h2pHlo – Business Plan

The Pain

Lithium‑based home storage is fundamentally limited.

Homeowners face three core constraints: rapid capacity loss, short storage duration, and fire risk. The market dominant incumbent — Tesla Powerwall — is a product designed for small electronics shoehorned into home applications. The physics don't scale.

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Guaranteed Degradation

2–3% capacity loss per year, without exception. After a decade, homeowners have lost 25–30% of their investment's performance and face a $5,000+ replacement bill.

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Hours, Not Weeks

A Powerwall 3 stores 13.5 kWh. Average US household uses 29 kWh/day. That's half a day of backup — useless for the 3–5 day storm outages people actually fear.

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Thermal Runaway Risk

NFPA documents 5,000+ lithium battery fires annually. As install rates rise, insurers and HOAs are beginning to restrict or exclude residential battery installations.

Our Answer

Hydrogen‑Powered Home Energy

h2pHlo integrates a PEM electrolyzer, solid‑state metal‑hydride hydrogen storage, and a fuel cell into a single residential unit. Zero degradation, weeks of autonomy, only water vapor as a byproduct.

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Weeks of storage vs. hours from lithium alternatives
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Zero calendar degradation — performs identically in year 1 and year 15
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No thermal runaway — metal hydrides absorb hydrogen at ambient pressure
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Only byproduct: water vapor — genuinely zero emission
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30% IRA tax credit applies to qualified clean energy storage

Technical Highlights

Electrolyzer Power5 kW

Electrolysis Efficiency≈ 82%

H₂ Storage Capacity5 kg (≈ 140 kWh)

Fuel Cell Output3 kW / 5 kW peak

Round‑Trip Efficiency≈ 95%

Warranty10 yr hardware

Full tech spec →

Business Model

Hardware + SaaS

Three revenue streams create a durable, growing business: high‑margin hardware, recurring AI energy management subscriptions, and consumable membrane replacements.

Unit Economics

Hardware MSRP$8,999

BOM + Logistics$3,780

Gross Margin~58%

SaaS Subscription / Year$348

5‑Year Customer LTV$10,740

Go‑to‑Market Strategy

1
Solar Installer Channel: Partner with 8,000+ US solar installers to cross‑sell h2pHlo as a premium add-on to existing solar customers.
2
IRA-Driven Consumer Demand: Leverage the 30% federal ITC to position h2pHlo as a tax‑advantaged home upgrade in high-solar markets (TX, CA, AZ).
3
Direct-to-Consumer: Waitlist-driven e‑commerce for early tech adopters, backed by a premium physical showroom in Austin.
4
OEM Licensing: License the metal-hydride storage and PEM IP to international manufacturers seeking clean energy solutions.

Get Involved

Join the clean energy revolution.

Whether you're an investor, solar installer, or potential partner — we want to hear from you.

View Investor Deck → Contact the Team

The Team

Meet the founders.

Three UT Austin alumni building the future of residential energy independence.

Luke Wade

Co-Founder · CEO

daddy

UT Austin Plan II Honors ’11. Senior Sales Engineer at Insightly (Unbounce). A decade of enterprise SaaS GTM experience turning complex technical systems into compelling customer value.

James Bayless

Co-Founder · CTO

Head of HR

UT Austin BS Mechanical Engineering ’11, TCU Neeley MBA ’20. 5+ years at BHP Billiton Petroleum from engineer to drilling supervisor on deepwater unconventional wells. Precision built under pressure.

Brian McDonald

Co-Founder · CPO

Secretary to the CEO

UT Austin BS ME (Tau Beta Pi), Stanford MS ME ’14 — energy systems & heat transfer. VP Product at Magna Imperio Systems where he commercialized the world’s first industrial-scale electrochemical desalination system. Dir. of HW Engineering at Pattern Bioscience.