July 12 (Reuters) - Hydrogen energy firm Huture said on Tuesday it has agreed to go public in the U.S. through a merger with a blank-check firm Aquaron Acquisition Corp in a deal that would value the combined company at $1 billion.

The SPAC market has soured over the last two years due to poor financial performance and a regulatory crackdown by the U.S. securities regulator.

In past year, high profile SPAC investors William Ackman and Chamath Palihapitiya have said they will return money to shareholders after they failed to find suitable merger targets.

Huture is a China-based hydrogen-powered vehicle manufacturing company founded in 2020. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq following the merger, which is expected to be completed later this year.

The current shareholders of Huture will retain a majority in the combined company. (Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)