The two companies both target the heavy-duty vehicle sector, with HydRe having facilities in the Baltics while Norwegian Hydrogen currently has projects in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Norwegian Hydrogen says HydRe will be the leading hydrogen refueller for heavy duty vehicles in the Nordics.

Juho-Matti Uuksulainen, HydRe founder, said, “We strongly believe that hydrogen is crucial to enable zero-emission trucking and that Norwegian Hydrogen will be a leading actor in making this happen.

“For us, it therefore only makes good sense to reinvest most of the purchase price and become shareholders in Norwegian Hydrogen.”

Uuksulainen revealed the three HydRe founders will reinvest most of the purchase price into Norwegian Hydrogen shares.

Going forward, two of HydRe’s founders will work for Norwegian Hydrogen full time, whilst the third will join the company’s board of directors.

Per Øyvind Voie, Norwegian Hydrogen Managing Director, said, “The three founders of HydRe all have experience from the biogas industry, having worked with the rollout of a network of biogas refuelling stations.”

Voie added, “While we definitely have ambitious plans for our organic growth, we also actively seek attractive partners that can strengthen our position even further.

“We believe strongly in economies of scale and are always open for discussions with potential partners that share our views.”

Last year, HydRe unveiled plans to develop 50 hydrogen stations across Finland by 2030, offering clean hydrogen in locations such as logistical centres and main trucking highways.

Helsinki, Turku and Tampere have been named as the locations of the company’s first stations, expected to be fully operational by 2024.

Read more: Finnish start-up commits to 50 hydrogen station developments by 2030