Norwegian hydrogen startup coming to North America
An image of Hystar's PEM electrolyzer that can produce green hydrogen. Image: Courtesy of Hystar.
Norway's Hystar, a green-hydrogen startup, is planning to build a gigawatt-scale factory stateside. The company is scanning both the U.S. and Canada to manufacture its green-hydrogen electrolyzers for its customers.
Why it matters: Regulation and net-zero goals are pushing companies to seek out green hydrogen for industrial applications, fertilizer production or as a transportation fuel.
Driving the news: Hystar, located just outside of Oslo, is investigating options for the North American factory, and will select a region based on access to talent and an ecosystem of suppliers, Hystar CEO Fredrik Mowill told Axios via a phone interview.
- Hystar also plans to start building a 4 GW-per-year factory in Norway next year, with operations starting in 2025. The company's current capacity at its headquarters is 50 MW per year.
- Mowill, speaking from Boston, said the company plans to raise a Series C round within the next 12 to 18 months, following its $26 million Series B round, which closed in January 2023, co-led by AP Ventures and Mitsubishi Corporation.
Zoom in: Hystar, which spun out of European research group SINTEF, makes a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer that it says is much more efficient than competitors.
- Electrolyzers use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and when clean electricity is used, it makes green hydrogen.
- Most hydrogen today is produced using natural gas.
- In order to decarbonize the production of steel, chemicals, aviation and shipping, global green-hydrogen production will need to grow six-fold, to nearly 600 million tons per year by 2050, according to a report from Deloitte.
Big picture: The Inflation Reduction Act has been catalyzing demand for electrolyzers and green hydrogen in the U.S. with a tax credit for green-hydrogen producers.
- The subsidies are needed because green hydrogen is more expensive to produce compared to hydrogen made using natural gas.
What's next: The Department of Energy will soon announce more details of its planned six to 10 clean hydrogen hubs.
