Norway’s Hystar raises $26 million to scale up green hydrogen production

Oslo-based Hystar has raised $26 million in a Series B funding round. With the new capital, the company plans to rapidly scale up commercial operations of its green hydrogen production plans as it expands into new markets and aims to have the production capacity to deliver on 100MW projects and beyond. 

The $26 million Series B round was co-led by AP Ventures and Mitsubishi Corporation with Finindus, Nippon Steel Trading, Hillhouse Investment and Trustbridge Partners alongside existing investors SINTEF Ventures and Firda participating.

With hydrogen long being heralded as a green alternative to any number of fossil fuel-burning activities, the trick therein is just how the magic atomic number 1 element is produced. It can be produced through fossil fuels, thus negating the point, and/or biomass, and in the case of Hystar, water electrolysis with electricity. And just in case you mind hasn’t already jumped there, yes, that’s two hydrogen and one oxygen making up said water.

Where Hystar’s specialty lies is in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysers, which according to the company, are the most efficient and safest in the world and have been designed for mass manufacturing from the very beginning. 

Sporting a patented design, Hystar’s membranes claim to be 90% thinner than conventional electrolysers, enabling the production of up to 150% more green hydrogen. 

To put things into perspective, according to Wood Mackenzie, the world’s second most used building material, steel, and the industry that surrounds its production will require 52 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually to decarbonize by 2050.

If Hystar’s claims are to be true, this means that they’re able to do more with less.

“Since our inception, we have been committed to rapidly scaling up to ensure the widespread commercial deployment of our game-changing technology. We are therefore excited to have closed our Series B funding round with such high-quality industrial and financial investors who can contribute to accelerating our growth,” commented Hystar CEO Fredrik Mowill.