Shares of ITM Power, the Sheffield-based green hydrogen and energy storage firm, rose as much as 16% after it announced that it signed “a 500MW capacity reservation with a global industrial customer.”

ITM Power said: “This reservation secures future production capacity for the manufacturing of our state-of-the-art electrolyser stacks.

“The agreement covers the period until the end of the 2028 calendar year and foresees call-offs against future projects in Europe and the US.

“The two companies have agreed not to disclose further contract details at this stage.”

ITM Power shares soared as much as 16% to around 58p to give the Sheffield firm a stock market value of roughly £360 million.

ITM Power designs and manufactures electrolysers based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology to produce green hydrogen, the only net zero energy gas, using renewable electricity and water.

ITM Power CEO Dennis Schulz said: “Today’s announcement is a great example of how close collaboration will unlock competitive and successful green hydrogen projects.

“Following the already announced capacity reservation for 100MW from Shell, this agreement with yet another large-scale industrial customer is a validation of our technology and credibility to deliver.”