Australian company Hysata’s hydrogen electrolyser technology has been recognised on the global stage with the publication of its ground-breaking research in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications.
The research confirms that Hysata’s ‘capillary-fed electrolysis cell’ can produce green hydrogen from water at 98% cell energy efficiency, well above the International Renewable Energy Agency’s 2050 target and “significantly better than existing electrolyser technologies”, enabling a hydrogen production cost well below A$2/kg (US$1.50/kg).
The Energy Transitions Commission expects demand for green hydrogen to grow to 500 – 800 million tonnes per annum by 2050 to meet demand, creating a new multi-trillion-dollar industry. Currently however, green hydrogen is too expensive to compete with fossil fuels, due in large part to the low efficiencies of existing electrolysers. Hysata’s electrolyser is expected to make green hydrogen competitive years earlier than generally assumed, accelerating global decarbonisation and increasing energy security.
The technology was developed by scientists at the University of Wollongong and is now being commercialised by Hysata, with backing from IP Group and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
Paul Barrett, CEO of Hysata, said the company is on a clear pathway to commercialise the world’s most efficient electrolyser and reach gigawatt scale hydrogen production capacity by 2025.
“The global momentum towards net zero is creating a massive opportunity for green hydrogen and electrolysers. Economics will ultimately determine which technologies win … and our technology will enable hydrogen production of below US$1.50/kg by the mid- 2020s, meeting Australian and global cost targets much earlier than generally expected. This is critical to making green hydrogen commercially viable and decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors … plans [are] underway to build a pilot electrolyser
Gerry Swiegers, chief technology officer at Hysata said the overall design of the Hysata electrolyser system was simpler than existing technologies. “Electrolysers have been around for 200 years, however the large amounts of renewable electricity required to produce green hydrogen and the overall cost of electrolysers today has prevented large- scale uptake of green hydrogen. Hysata’s overall electrolyser system has been designed for ease of manufacturing, scaling and installation, delivering 95 % overall system efficiency, equivalent to 41.5 kWh/kg, compared to 75 % or less for existing electrolyser technologies”.
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