This Australian Startup Mimics Trees To Make Cheaper Green Hydrogen
Australian startup Hysata is on a mission to make emissions-free hydrogen more affordable. The company has raised $111 million from investors to scale up its technology, which uses an efficient electrolyzer to produce hydrogen from electricity. Currently, green hydrogen is more expensive than fossil fuel-based alternatives, but investment is increasing to bridge this gap.
Governments worldwide are providing subsidies to incentivize green hydrogen production, and spending on electrolyzers tripled last year to $8.7 billion, according to BloombergNEF. Green hydrogen has the potential to replace natural gas and coal in processes such as steel production, shipping, and power storage. Hysata's electrolyzer technology achieves an impressive 95% efficiency, thanks to a breakthrough that avoids the formation of bubbles during water splitting. The company's estimates suggest that this discovery will result in significant cost savings.
With the funding raised, Hysata plans to scale up its workforce and manufacturing capacity to bring its technology to market. Investors in the company include BP, Vestas Wind Systems, Posco Holdings, and Templewater. While Hysata is not the only company claiming high-efficiency hydrogen production, it aims to deploy its commercial-scale units by 2025.
The market for electrolyzers is growing rapidly, with global green hydrogen production projected to reach 9.6 million metric tons by 2030, up from 400,000 tons this year. However, this amount is still below what is needed to achieve climate goals.
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