ARENA to scale-up green hydrogen with $20 million investment
August 21, 2023The Australian agency is backing hydrogen technology from Hysata.
ARENA (the Australia Renewable Energy Agency) announced an AU$20.9 million ($13.38 million) investment into Hysata – a Wollongong-based start-up focused on developing next generation green hydrogen electrolyzer technology – to support Hysata in demonstrating its tech at commercial scale.
The startup is receiving another $3 million investment from Stanwell Corporation.
This Queensland government-owned power company is investing AU$3 million ($1.9 million) into the green hydrogen project as well and will provide the site and facilities for Hysata’s field deployment of the electrolyzer.
The project will allow Hysata to develop and test a 5MW (Megawatt) unit at the company’s new manufacturing facility in Port Kembla. According to ARENA, the plan is to move the entire system to Rockhampton in Queensland to install the system and run trials next to the Stanwell Power Station.
ARENA has supported and helped to develop the new technology since it was a mere concept in a University of Wollongong laboratory, before this work evolved into the company Hysata which was established to commercialize the tech.
Hysata’s green hydrogen electrolyzer tech could be a “game-changer”.
“Hysata’s electrolyser technology could be a game-changer for renewable hydrogen,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller.
Miller added that “The demonstration at Stanwell’s site will be key to unlocking commercial demand for Hysata’s product by proving the technology works at scale.”
At present, the production cost of green hydrogen, which uses renewable energy, is at least twice as much as the cost of producing hydrogen from fossil fuels. According to Hysata, its novel electrolyzer technology will cut costs and generate green hydrogen “well below” AU$2 per kilogram (about US$1.50/kg), which is a competitive target price.
Hysata’s electrolyzers remove all main sources of electrical resistance.
Essentially, what this means is hydrogen and oxygen bubbles are eliminated from the process. Without bubbles forming on the electrolyzer’s electrodes, electrical resistance is virtually zero. As such, Hysata expects a fully operational electroyzer will remain cool with good air ventilation alone.
The combined effect is what gives Hysata’s electrolzyers a boost in overall efficiency to about 95%, which is far higher than current technologies that typically operate with efficiencies around 75% on average.
“With exceptional 95% efficiency combined with cost-effective materials and reduced engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) costs, Hysata’s electrolyser will transform the economics of green hydrogen production,” said Hysata CEO Paul Barrett.
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