Ekona Power
Ekona Power is a Vancouver-based cleantech company that has developed a proprietary methane pyrolysis platform, the xCaliber reactor, to convert natural gas into clean hydrogen and solid carbon black for industrial decarbonization, serving energy producers, utilities, and carbon black manufacturers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Ekona Power does
Ekona Power Inc., founded in 2017 and headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, develops a methane pyrolysis platform (the proprietary xCaliber reactor) that converts natural gas into clean hydrogen and solid carbon black without requiring carbon capture and storage (CCS), clean electricity, or water feedstock. The reactor uses pulsed combustion and high-speed gas dynamics to dissociate methane at approximately 1,000 kelvin through a non-catalytic process, avoiding catalyst contamination issues that affect competing pyrolysis technologies. The platform's dual product streams are designed to achieve hydrogen production costs of $1.20-$1.40/kg at industrial scale, reaching parity with grey hydrogen from steam methane reforming while producing carbon black priced at $800-$1,500+ per tonne for sale into tire, rubber, plastics, battery, and construction materials markets.
Ekona targets large industrial hydrogen consumers (refining, ammonia, methanol, chemicals, power generation), natural gas utilities and producers, and the carbon black manufacturing supply chain. Its go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales to large North American energy and industrial customers, strategic field demonstration partnerships with first-mover industrial partners (ARC Resources at Gold Creek, Alberta), and technology licensing for international markets lacking CCS infrastructure (Toho Gas and Mitsui in Japan). The company has demonstrated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 through pilot operations, is constructing its first 1-tonne-per-day commercial plant, and is engineering a 20-tonne-per-day commercial-scale design under a FEED study.
The company has raised more than CAD $100M cumulatively from strategic investors (Baker Hughes-led Series A of CAD $79M, plus Mitsui, ConocoPhillips, TransAlta, Continental Resources, NGIF Cleantech Ventures, BDC Capital, and ARC Resources) and federal/provincial government programs (NRCan, NRC-IRAP, Alberta Innovates, Emissions Reduction Alberta, NorthX Climate Tech/CICE, NGIF Accelerator). Ekona has grown to approximately 55 employees, doubled its Burnaby headquarters footprint to 20,000 square feet, opened a Calgary regional office, and has received repeated external recognition including the Global Cleantech 100 (2022, 2023), Foresight 50 (2021-2024), and the 2025 Canadian Business Innovation Award.
Ekona Power firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ekona Power
- Legal name
- Ekona Power Inc.
- Website
- https://ekonapower.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ekona Power is a Vancouver-based cleantech company that has developed a proprietary methane pyrolysis platform, the xCaliber reactor, to convert natural gas into clean hydrogen and solid carbon black for industrial decarbonization, serving energy producers, utilities, and carbon black manufacturers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ekona Power industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clean Hydrogen Production Technology
- NAICS
- Industrial Gas Manufacturing (325120), Mining and Oil and Gas Field Machinery Manufacturing (33313)
- SIC
- Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment (3533), Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567)
- akta.pro primary industry
- On-Site Gas Generation Systems (IMAEACAJ)
Keywords
Where Ekona Power is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Ekona Power business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Clean Hydrogen Sales: Primary revenue from selling clean hydrogen produced via methane pyrolysis to industrial customers including refineries, ammonia producers, chemicals manufacturers, and power generators. Hydrogen is produced at point of use wherever natural gas infrastructure exists, eliminating high hydrogen transportation costs.
- Carbon Black Sales: Revenue from selling solid carbon co-product (carbon black) to tire manufacturers, rubber producers, plastics companies, battery electrode manufacturers, asphalt/cement producers, and emerging markets like soil remediation and water purification. Carbon black prices range from $800 to over $1,500 per tonne depending on grade and market.
- Technology Licensing: Revenue from supplying xCaliber reactor technology to international partners like Toho Gas for demonstration and deployment projects, potentially including licensing fees and technology supply agreements.
- Engineering and Deployment Services: Revenue from Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies, field deployment planning, and technical services for customers deploying Ekona's technology at their facilities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Clean hydrogen and carbon black co-products sold to industrial customers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Ekona Power product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ekona Power operates a methane pyrolysis platform using its proprietary xCaliber reactor to convert natural gas into two co-products: clean hydrogen (Ekona Hydrogen) and solid carbon/carbon black (Ekona Carbon). The platform deploys at industrial sites wherever natural gas infrastructure exists, eliminating the need for carbon capture and storage, clean electricity, or water feedstock. The technology is sold to large industrial customers, energy utilities, and natural gas producers through enterprise sales, technology licensing, and field demonstration partnerships.
Product overview
Ekona Power offers a methane pyrolysis platform that produces two co-products: clean hydrogen (Ekona Hydrogen) and solid carbon/black (Ekona Carbon). At the core of the platform is the proprietary xCaliber Reactor, which uses pulsed combustion and high-speed gas dynamics to convert methane into hydrogen and solid carbon. The platform is designed for deployment wherever natural gas infrastructure exists, without requiring carbon capture and storage, clean electricity, or water feedstock. The company targets industrial decarbonization markets including refining, chemicals, steel, cement, power generation, and carbon black production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- xCaliber™: Ekona's proprietary methane pyrolysis reactor technology that uses pulsed combustion and high-speed gas dynamics to convert natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon.
- Ekona Hydrogen
- Ekona Carbon
Products and services
- Ekona Hydrogen Clean hydrogen production offering using methane pyrolysis to produce low-cost, industrial-scale clean hydrogen wherever natural gas infrastructure exists. The platform generates hydrogen without relying on carbon capture, clean electricity, or water feedstock. Targeted at industrial decarbonization markets including refining, ammonia, methanol, chemicals, steel, cement, and power generation.
- Ekona Carbon Carbon black produced through methane pyrolysis with a dramatically reduced emissions profile. Engineered for tire, rubber, and plastics manufacturers with applications in tires, rubbers, plastics, construction materials, environmental remediation, and advanced materials.
- xCaliber Reactor Technology Platform A novel methane pyrolysis reactor that uses pulsed combustion and high-speed gas dynamics to convert natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon. The non-catalytic reactor is the core technology platform licensed and supplied to international partners and deployed in customer sites for production of clean hydrogen and carbon black co-products.
- Ekona Plant One Field Demonstration First commercial clean hydrogen production plant deployment, a one-tonne-per-day field demonstration plant at the Gold Creek Natural Gas Plant. Built in 2024, commissioned and tested in 2025, operated for commercial evaluation in 2026 and beyond. Validates Ekona's technology in a real-world industrial setting.
Quantifiable outcome
- Hydrogen production cost of $1.20-1.40/kg at industrial scale, cost-competitive with grey hydrogen from steam methane reforming
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Ekona Power
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ekona Power technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Ekona Power partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Toho GasflagshipEkona supplying xCaliber reactor technology for methane pyrolysis demonstration project in Japan using city gas feedstock. Toho Gas is a leading Japanese utility serving ~20 million people in Chubu region. Project aims to reduce emissions and enhance hydrogen supply chain viability in Japan.
- MitsuicorePartnering with Toho Gas on Japan demonstration project. Conducting market research on carbon black and securing sales channels for carbon black produced by the methane pyrolysis demonstration.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ekona Power competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Monolith Materials: US-based methane pyrolysis company producing clean hydrogen and carbon black using natural gas feedstock. Closest direct competitor to Ekona—same feedstock, same dual-product strategy, and more advanced commercial scale (Olive Creek, Nebraska plant).
- HiiROC: UK-based methane pyrolysis startup using plasma technology to convert natural gas into hydrogen and carbon black. Targets similar industrial customers and carbon black markets; competing technology approach (plasma vs. Ekona's pulsed combustion) for the same end-product.
- Hazer Group: Australia-listed company developing methane pyrolysis technology (Hazer Process) to produce clean hydrogen and synthetic graphite. Targets industrial decarbonization with dual-product economics analogous to Ekona's hydrogen + carbon black model.
- C-Zero: US-based early-stage methane pyrolysis startup focused on producing clean hydrogen from natural gas without CO2 emissions. Pursues similar industrial deployment model and serves comparable refining, ammonia, and chemicals markets.
Broad incumbents
- Linde: Global industrial gas giant producing and distributing hydrogen (including blue hydrogen via SMR with CCS). Represents the largest incumbent in the merchant hydrogen market Ekona targets; offers established logistics, customer relationships, and project finance capabilities.
- Air Liquide: Global industrial gas major with substantial hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure. Competes across all industrial hydrogen end-markets (refining, ammonia, chemicals) and is investing in blue and green hydrogen at scale—directly overlapping Ekona's customer base.
- Air Products and Chemicals: Major industrial gas company with large-scale hydrogen production (including the world's largest green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia). Competes in industrial hydrogen supply and has CCS/blue hydrogen programs that overlap Ekona's positioning as a CCS-avoidance alternative.
- Cabot Corporation: Largest global carbon black producer serving tire, rubber, and specialty markets. Represents the incumbent on Ekona's carbon black co-product side; competes on quality, scale, and pricing in the same end-markets Ekona Carbon targets.
Regional players
- Iwatani Corporation: Japan's largest hydrogen distributor and industrial gas company, actively building hydrogen supply chains in Japan where Ekona is expanding via the Toho Gas partnership. Overlap is regional and channel-based rather than technology-based.
Emerging players
- Nel ASA: Norwegian electrolyzer manufacturer pursuing green hydrogen at scale. Competes indirectly via the alternative pathway (renewable electricity + electrolysis) for the same industrial hydrogen customers Ekona targets, particularly in Europe and North America.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ekona Power social profiles
Digital presenceEkona Power financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ekona Power leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Ekona Power funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors17 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ekona Power M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ekona Power
What does Ekona Power do?
Ekona Power operates a methane pyrolysis platform using its proprietary xCaliber reactor to convert natural gas into two co-products: clean hydrogen (Ekona Hydrogen) and solid carbon/carbon black (Ekona Carbon). The platform deploys at industrial sites wherever natural gas infrastructure exists, eliminating the need for carbon capture and storage, clean electricity, or water feedstock. The technology is sold to large industrial customers, energy utilities, and natural gas producers through enterprise sales, technology licensing, and field demonstration partnerships.
Is Ekona Power a public or private company?
Ekona Power is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Ekona Power founded?
Ekona Power was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ekona Power based?
Ekona Power is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Ekona Power make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Clean Hydrogen Sales are the primary driver. The others are carbon Black Sales, technology Licensing and engineering and Deployment Services.
Who are Ekona Power's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Monolith Materials, HiiROC, Hazer Group and C-Zero. Broad incumbents are Linde, Air Liquide, Air Products and Chemicals and Cabot Corporation. Iwatani Corporation is listed as a regional player. Nel ASA is listed as an emerging player.
Does Ekona Power have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ekona Power.
What industry is Ekona Power in?
Ekona Power's product category is Clean Hydrogen Production Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAEACAJ, On-Site Gas Generation Systems. Its NAICS code is 325120 and its SIC code is 3533.