Hystar plans to open a new 4-gigawatt electrolyzer factory in Norway in 2025, and the company has also announced its expansion into North America with plans to establish a multi-gigawatt factory by 2027.
Electrolyzers are used in the production of green hydrogen. Hystar creates proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, which allow for the production of hydrogen from renewable electricity at an affordable cost.
The company has already begun producing electrolyzer stacks for its upcoming PEM electrolyzer deliveries. Hystar's current production facilities assemble 50 MW worth of electrolyzer capacity. The creation of the new 4 GW facility in Høvik, Norway, follows increased demand for the technology, which has been purchased by companies such as Equinor, Yara Clean Ammonia, and Gassco.
In terms of the company’s expansion outside of the European market, Hystar plans to soon initiate the hiring process for its North American headquarters, which will have an established location in 2024. The company is currently in discussion with stakeholders in the United States and Canada to decide on a factory location.
Hystar expects that production in North America could exceed its European operations within the decade.
“Our Høvik GW factory demonstrates our commitment to rapidly expanding our European operations and meeting the strong demand for our technology across Europe,” said Fredrik Mowill, CEO of Hystar. “As we continue to scale up our operations, we are now looking at opportunities beyond Europe -- the North American market has created a highly favorable environment for companies like ours to thrive in. We are looking forward to identifying the ideal North American location for Hystar.”
The global demand for hydrogen has grown by three times since 1975, but much of this hydrogen production has been backed by fossil fuels. Green hydrogen, however, is fueled by renewable energy and therefore does not cause any emissions. As the demand for hydrogen continues to rise, there lies potential for green hydrogen to surpass the production of fossil fuel-based hydrogen.
In order to achieve this, large-scale production of electrolyzers would be crucial. Since renewable energy costs are declining, lowering electrolyzers' costs marks the next step in the increased adoption of green hydrogen. Hystar has already revealed its ability to help make this possible.
The International Energy Agency, in its Future of Hydrogen report, suggests that now is the time to scale up clean hydrogen technologies and bring down costs. According to the IEA, support from government initiatives paired with increased corporate financial commitments to green hydrogen can help make this possible.
