Phoenix Hydrogen YC Application

Winter 2022Inactive

Phoenix Hydrogen went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2022 batch as a Industrials company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Winter 2022
Industry: IndustrialsEnergy
Team size: 2
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2022

Founders

Shawn DrostFounder
Terence VomocilFounder

What Phoenix Hydrogen does

Phoenix Hydrogen is building the first commodity marketplace for hydrogen. This year, $9.5B in federal grants will fund the first hydrogen grids, but this ecosystem has no marketplace. We’re uniquely able to build one because we’re already working with big utilities on a fulfillment platform: a 1000'-tall underground warehouse for hydrogen.

Phoenix Hydrogen's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Phoenix Hydrogen, Winter 2022 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Phoenix Hydrogen

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

First commodity marketplace for hydrogen

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We are building the first commodity marketplace for hydrogen to connect buyers and sellers as hydrogen infrastructure takes off. Our product integrates with the fulfillment platform supporting underground hydrogen storage, letting utilities and producers trade hydrogen more efficiently.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We live in Berkeley, CA but also remote. After YC, we'd stay based in Berkeley and remote to stay close to energy and climate tech networks.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Berkeley puts us next to academic and industry experts in energy and climate, which is critical for hydrogen innovation. Remote flexibility helps us tap talent and engage partners across the US.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Phoenix Hydrogen YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Phoenix Hydrogen's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Phoenix Hydrogen would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.