Australia backs Hysata with $35m electrolyser funding

The Port Kembla facility will initially produce 50MW of equipment annually.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will provide Hysata with up to $35m (AU$49m) to establish a commercial-scale electrolyser manufacturing line in New South Wales, supporting the development of Australia’s renewable hydrogen industry.

The $70m (AU$98m) project at Port Kembla will establish a 50-megawatt (MW) per annum manufacturing line for Hysata’s Australian-developed capillary-fed electrolyser technology.

The facility is designed to scale to 200 MW per annum through 24-hour operations as demand grows, ARENA said in a statement on 18 September.

Developed from research at the University of Wollongong, the technology is designed to produce renewable hydrogen more efficiently.

This could help lower costs and support the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries such as steelmaking, chemicals, shipping, and heavy transport.

The project also includes the deployment of early commercial megawatt-scale electrolyser systems to demonstrate the technology in real-world applications and support future commercial growth.

“This project will help move Australian innovation from the lab into large-scale manufacturing, creating skilled jobs, whilst strengthening Australia’s capability to produce critical clean energy technologies locally,” said Darren Miller, CEO of ARENA.

The project is expected to create around 40 new skilled jobs across manufacturing, engineering, and technical roles in the Illawarra region.

Hysata will also collaborate with the University of Wollongong and TAFE NSW Illawarra to deliver training, internships, and skills development pathways to help grow the local workforce needed to support the clean energy transition.

A key feature of the project is the planned local manufacture of core electrolyser components, including membranes, anodes, and cathodes.

(US$1 = AU$1.40)