Electrolyzer company Hystar raises US$26M to scale up to full commercial operations
16 January 2023
Hystar AS, a Norway-based electrolyzer company, announced a Series B funding round of US$26 million to support the scale-up to full commercial operations with an automated GW-capacity production line by 2025. The injection of capital, raised through equity, will also be used to fuel Hystar’s growth, expansion into new markets, and ability to deliver on larger (100 MW and beyond) projects.
The round was co-led by AP Ventures and Mitsubishi Corporation. Additional investors in the round included Finindus, Nippon Steel Trading, Hillhouse Investment and Trustbridge Partners, alongside existing investors SINTEF Ventures and Firda.
The ultra-efficient electrolyzer design, which is patented and unique to Hystar, boasts a 90% thinner membrane than conventional electrolysers, enabling the production of up to 150% more green hydrogen, the company says.
Hystar’s patented technology is targeting hard-to-abate sectors at scale, such as steel, ammonia, and heavy-duty transportation. The global steel industry alone, for example, will require 52 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually to decarbonize by 2050 according to Wood Mackenzie.
Located in Høvik, Norway, Hystar is building an Innovation Centre to support its R&D and manufacturing capabilities. By 2025, Hystar will install its first automated GW manufacturing facility. As a spin-off from SINTEF, one of Europe’s leading research organizations, Hystar has 15 years history of research into PEM technology.
With more than 5,000 hours of in-house testing, Hystar’s technology has been shown to use significantly less energy than conventional PEM electrolyzers, enabling a substantial increase in hydrogen production output.
In June 2021, Hystar raised more than NOK 50 million (US$5 million) to develop and commercialize their proprietary PEM electrolysis technology. AP Ventures, a significant investor in breakthrough hydrogen technologies, led the fundraising, alongside SINTEF Ventures, the investment fund of the SINTEF research institute, and Firda, a pioneering early-stage investor in Norway.
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