Green Hydrogen Fans Say Damn The Blue H2

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The war between green hydrogen and blue hydrogen has only just begun, but things are already looking not so good for blue hydrogen stakeholders. The latest news comes from Hystar, a Norwegian startup that is planning to build a fully automated, 4-gigawatt electrolyzer factory in Norway to grease the skids on the green hydrogen pipeline. The company hasn’t even begun construction and it is already planning to vault into North America with an even more ambitious scale-up.

Green Hydrogen Vs. Blue Hydrogen: Who Wore Sustainability Best?

For those of you new to the topic, hydrogen is like water to modern industrialized economies: It touches everything, and they can’t live without it. Among other functions, hydrogen is a fuel and an input for the refining, metallurgy and pharmaceuticals industries. Global food systems also depend on fertilizer produced with hydrogen.

Hydrogen extracted from natural gas has been the primary driver of all this activity, with coal also factoring in to a lesser extent.

That is about to change as the falling cost of wind, solar, and other renewables has flipped the script on electrolysis, a known technology for pushing hydrogen gas from plain water with an electrical current.

The result is green hydrogen, a new global industry that has been drawing investor interest like honey to flies.

In contrast, so-named blue hydrogen is a public relations gimmick aimed at enabling fossil energy stakeholders to go about their business even as the planet burns.

Blue hydrogen simply refers to the same old fossil-sourced hydrogen, tricked out with carbon capture systems. It does not address the plethora of environmental issues related to natural gas extraction — including the impact on water resources — while adding another layer of impacts. Here in the US, blue hydrogen proposals have already sparked protests over new pipelines and sequestration sites, and there’s plenty more where that comes from.

Sparks Fly When Green Hydrogen Meets Automation

Considering the powerful private sector and governmental forces in play (looking at you, Exxon), blue hydrogen is likely to continue attracting investor interest and public subsidies into the future, assuming there is one. The big question for blue hydrogen fans to answer is what to do with all their product. They will have to convince industrial supply chains to continue depending on fossil inputs when consumers up the value chain are clamoring for green alternatives.

Good luck with that. Meanwhile, companies like Hystar are pushing the green hydrogen supply chain by driving down the cost of electrolysis systems.

For Hystar, automation is the name of the game.”Hystar’s PEM electrolysers are the most efficient and safest in the world and have been designed for mass manufacturing from the very beginning,” the company explains, with PEM referring to the proton exchange membrane technology widely used in electrolyser systems.

“The ultra-efficient 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,” they add.

Many Hands Come Together For Sustainable H2

The automation-based business plan has gotten an assist from the Research Council of Norway, which has supported Hystar’s “Autostack” electrolyser manufacturing program under a three-year industrial initiative.

“The goal of the Autostack project is to develop a complete industrialization concept for high-volume production of PEM electrolyser stacks,” explains SINTEF, an independent research center based in Norway. Also participating in Autostack along with SINTEF are Semcon Sweden AB and Tronrud Engineering.

“The current state of the art production methods are low-volume and based on manual processes. Mass production is necessary, not only to make the zero-emission green hydrogen cost-competitive with the CO2 intensive grey hydrogen production methods but also to meet the expected future demand for electrolysers,” SINTEF notes.

That’s not as simple as it sounds. Automating the PEM electrolyzer manufacturing process is a tricky business characterized by a high degree of precision. “Each cell consists of ultrathin components which must be assembled with very high requirements on positioning and alignment,” SINTEF notes. “This is further challenged by each cell component having demanding characteristics, such as being brittle or floppy.”

The idea appears to have caught on among investors. Last January Hystar announced a new round of $26 million in Series B funding for its automated electrolyzer manufacturing technology.

Co-helmed by the hydrogen-centric firm AP Ventures and Mitsubishi Corporation, the cash infusion was aimed at accelerating Hystar’s goal for delivering electrolysis systems in the range of 100 megawatts or more.

“Additional investors in the round included Finindus, Nippon Steel Trading, Hillhouse Investment and Trustbridge Partners, alongside existing investors SINTEF Ventures and Firda,” Hyster noted, underscoring the role of the global steel industry in pushing the green hydrogen envelope.

“Hystar’s patented technology is a game-changer when it comes to tackling hard-to-abate sectors at scale, such as steel, ammonia, and heavy-duty transportation,” they emphasized. “The global steel industry alone, for example, will require 52 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually to decarbonize by 2050.”

Look Out, North America

As for whether or not Hystar will bring its automated electrolyzer factories to the US, that’s a good question.

The outlook for public support for green hydrogen projects in the US dimmed when former US President Donald Trump was in office, though the Department of Energy continued to fund R&D projects.

After Trump lost — yes, lost — the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, the Energy Department turned up the heat on alternative hydrogen sourcing with a new $8 billion funding pot to establish a network of 8-10 “clean” hydrogen hubs around the US. Blue hydrogen is in the mix (it is stipulated in the Bipartisan Infrastructure law, which provided the funds), but the emphasis is on green hydrogen.

Multiple states have formed consortia to compete for a share of the $8 billion. One region of probably interest to Hystar is the Northeast US, where a beast of a hydrogen hub is forming. The region offers offshore wind resources, friendly state policies, and access to European markets as selling points. If you have another guess drop us a note in the comment thread.

Hystar expects to begin work on a new 4-gigawatt, fully automated electrolyzer factory in Høvik, Norway next year, with operation to commence in 2025.

Next year Hystar also expects to pick a spot in the North America to establish a second multi-gigawatt factory. It is currently in discussions with both Canada and the US, though Fredrik Mowill, CEO of Hystar, seemed to hint that the company is attracted by the Biden administration’s support for green hydrogen.

“As we continue to scale up our operations, we are now looking at opportunities beyond Europe – the North American market has created a highly favourable environment for companies like ours to thrive in,” Mowill said in a press release issued yesterday.

In the same press release, Hystar gave both the US and Canada props for supporting policies that bring down the cost of green hydrogen, in contrast to other governments.

“…the US has made ambitious hydrogen subsidies available through the Inflation Reduction Act, with plans being developed for 10 major hydrogen hubs, while Canada is making an investment tax credit available for clean hydrogen production,” Hystar explained.

On first read, that statement seems to indicate more enthusiasm for the US. However, Mowill also hinted that future circumstances may tip the balance.

“We are looking forward to identifying the ideal North American location for Hystar,” he added, which could be a veiled hint that Canada would be an ideal location if Trump and his MAGA Republicans strengthen their grip on US energy policy.

That depends on the outcome of the 2024 election cycle, so hold on to your hats. In the meantime, Hystar already expects that its North American operations may outstrip its footprint in Europe. They plan to start scooping up talent for their North American venture in the near future, so keep an eye on their recruitment ads for a hint on the location.

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Image: Hystar is moving forward with plans for fully automated factories to produce a high volume of containerized electrolyzer systems (image via email courtesy of Hystar).