KKR's $4.2bn clean-energy buy shows where hydrogen isn't getting capital
As KKR pays $4.2bn for operating solar and wind, UK electrolyser maker CPH2 scrambles for a £3m lifeline, capital favouring electrons over molecules.
KKR announced on Thursday (2026-07-09) that it is acquiring the North American operations of EDF Power Solutions, a clean energy affiliate of France's EDF Group, for $4.2 billion, with additional payments of up to $390 million.4
The assets it is buying already run. EDF Power Solutions owns a portfolio of solar, wind and battery storage, with 17 GW under service contracts across the US, Canada and a small amount in Mexico.4 That kind of money is chasing plants producing electrons now, while a UK electrolyser maker is scrambling for a fraction of it.4
Clean Power Hydrogen, the Doncaster-based electrolyser manufacturer, plans to raise £3 million and forge a partnership with Ireland's Lisheen H2 Energy Park, which trades as Hidrigin, EnergyVoice reported on 2026-06-25.3 The plan came weeks after CPH2 issued a profit warning and suspended trading in its shares.3
The gap is stark. KKR's cheque dwarfs the £3 million lifeline CPH2 is seeking.4,3 Electrolyser makers have struggled to move from pilot orders to repeatable commercial sales, and CPH2's reliance on a single Irish partner for that sum signals how thin the margin for error has become.3
Demand is the missing piece. Uniper opened a call for expressions of interest from potential hydrogen buyers at its planned Wilhelmshaven import terminal on the North Sea coast on Friday (2026-05-15).1 The final investment decision is not expected until early 2030, with construction and commissioning stretching to early 2034, Uniper spokeswoman Julia Grebe told Montel.1
A timeline that long is not what a company burning cash on factory overhead can wait for.1 Every delayed final investment decision at a terminal like Wilhelmshaven pushes the demand curve further out, and each day it shifts is another day an electrolyser maker must find cash to survive.1,3
Contrast that with upstream oil and gas, where capital is abundant. US upstream mergers hit $38 billion in the first quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly total in two years, Yahoo Finance reported.2 The quarter's centrepiece was the all-stock tie-up of Devon Energy and Coterra Energy, valued at $25 billion.2
The combined company is projected to produce over 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, making it the largest shale operator in the Delaware Basin, with management targeting $1 billion in annual pre-tax cost savings.2 Those are returns available now. Hydrogen's are promised on a distant calendar.2
The near-term signal is whether CPH2 shareholders approve the £3 million raise and how much dilution it demands.3 The Hidrigin partnership may bridge the gap, but developers in Ireland and the UK depend on offtake agreements that have not been signed in volume.3 Until demand-side commitments arrive, the supply side of Britain's hydrogen ambition risks thinning out before the buyers ever show up.3