Case Study: Cella Energy wins $250,000 to accelerate low-cost hydrogen storage with Wazoku

Cella Energy - Customer Case Study

InnoCentive, supported by the US Office of Naval Research, ran the 2010 Fundamental Ideas Energy Storage Challenge to find new transportable energy storage systems. The global competition invited innovators to meet strict technical and size criteria, shortlisted seven finalists to present at PitchLive in London, and sought solutions that could help transition grids and enable electric vehicle adoption.

By offering a $250,000 prize and global outreach, the Challenge drew more than 120 diverse submissions from universities, SMEs and corporations, surfacing ideas from nanotechnologies to flow batteries. Winner Cella Energy received funding to advance low‑cost hydrogen storage, investors and partners backed other finalists (e.g., SustainX, ITM Power), and the initiative built a worldwide community and visibility that accelerated development and commercialization of several promising technologies.

Cella Energy

Stephen Bennington

Chief Scientific Officer