Hysata and Saudi power company sign agreement on commercial-scale electrolyser demos

Electrolyser maker Hysata has announced an agreement with ACWA Power for commercial-scale demonstrations in Saudi Arabia, which the Wollongong-headquartered company says represent a first step towards large-scale systems being deployed in ACWA’s projects.

In a statement on Monday (Australian time), Hysata said the agreement will make use of ACWA’s “significant expertise in large capital projects”, including the 2.2-gigawatt NEOM green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia, which is 60 per cent complete and “the world’s largest, utility scale hydrogen project”. It is expected to produce “600 tonnes of hydrogen daily once fully operational in 2026.”

According to its website, ACWA is an investor in, and developer and operator of desalination and power plants across 13 countries, with a portfolio worth $US 97 billion (approximately $155 billion) and a workforce of approximately 4,000.

“We were especially attracted to their pipeline of large-scale green hydrogen projects with strong offtakes, their deep expertise across the energy supply chain in the Middle East, and an impressive ability to execute large-scale projects at a rapid pace,” said Hysata CEO Paul Barrett.

“The Middle East offers all the ingredients to be a green hydrogen leader with low cost and abundant renewable capacity, ambitious hydrogen investments and attractive incentives for manufacturing.”

The announcement follows the deal’s signing on February 5th at ACWA Power’s Innovation Days event in Riyadh.

According to Hysata, its high-efficiency capillary-fed electrolysis technology can produce a kilogram of hydrogen using “only 41.5 kWh of electricity”. The method was developed by researchers at the University of Wollongong’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science and is currently being industrialised.

The company was established in 2021. It announced a Series A round worth $42.5 million in 2022 and a Series B worth $US 111.3 million (approximately $172 million at the time) in May last year.

Picture: credit Hysata

Further reading

Hysata and POSCO partner to advance green hydrogen energy

Hydrogen equipment manufacturer Hysata announces $172 million Series B round

Hydrogen hopeful Hysata opens new factory, awarded over $23 million in project funding

Electrolyser manufacturer Hysata closes $42.5 million Series A round