CHP/Combined Heat and Power

Scale Microgrids Shifting Gears into 9.6-MW CHP Gas-to-H2 Fuel Cell Project for Bridgeport, Conn.

March 20, 2025

The Charter Oak project in Bridgeport has been in development for about 10 years. The thermal loop will supply heat and hot water for the University of Bridgeport, Approved Storage and Waste Hauling, and Bassick High School.

Rod Walton, Managing Editor

Scale Microgrids is diving into a new technology front by acquiring a future combined heat and power (CHP) fuel cell power project planned for Connecticut’s biggest city.

The microgrid developer is buying a 9.6-MW CHP and fuel cell project which will provide heat and power in Bridgeport’s South End region. The fuel cells will be paired with a thermal loop system and will convert natural gas into hydrogen through steam reforming of methane gas and then generate combustion-free electricity through the fuel cell’s electrochemical process.

Scale Microgrids acquired the CHP fuel cell power system preconstruction from original developer NuPower. HyAxiom will fabricate, install and operate the hydrogen fuel cells.

Scale will handle financing, construction, operations and ownership over the lifetime of the Charter Oak CHP project in Bridgeport. The microgrid firm was recently acquired by EGT Transition Infrastructure.

“This project is a terrific opportunity to deploy innovative clean energy technology to drive economic, reliability and sustainability outcomes in Bridgeport,” said Julian Torres, chief investment officer at New Jersey-based Scale Microgrids, in a statement. “We’re also proud to work with great in-state companies like NuPower and HyAxiom as we continue to expand our footprint in Connecticut more broadly.”

The transition is supported with debt financing from Investec and MUFG, while Foss & Co. is providing tax equity. No financial terms were released.

"We are proud to support Scale Microgrids in this transformative project, which not only enhances local energy reliability but also underscores our commitment to advancing clean energy solutions that benefit communities and the environment,” Fred Petit, co-head of Energy and Infrastructure Finance North America at Investec, said in a statement.

The Charter Oak project in Bridgeport has been in development for about 10 years, according to reports. The thermal loop will supply heat and hot water for the University of Bridgeport (pictured), Approved Storage and Waste Hauling, and Bassick High School, reducing their operating costs and enabling them to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by a combined 8,000 metric tons per year.

The reliability of the United Illuminating electricity grid should also be enhanced from the locally produced baseload power. Bridgeport is Connecticut’s largest city with about 150,000 residents.

Scale was founded in the 2010s as a startup focused on microgrid development for commercial customers. Early this year, global investment firm EGT announced that its new Transition Infrastructure unit was acquiring Scale Microgrid, which had previously gained financing from Warburg Pincus.

In recent years, the microgrid startup announced it was shifting part of its focus into community solar projects.

About the Author

Rod Walton, Managing Editor | Managing Editor

For Microgrid Knowledge editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023.

I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 33-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future.

Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.