The hydrogen electrolyser technology of Australian business Hysata has been backed by prominent global investors as the company finishes its oversubscribed Series A investment round.
The fundraising round was headed by Virescent Ventures on behalf of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) (Australia), with participation from Kiko Ventures (UK), IP Group Australia, Vestas Ventures (Denmark), Hostplus (Australia), and BlueScope (via its ventures arm BlueScopeX TM) (Aus).
The significance of the shift Hysata is bringing to the green hydrogen business is highlighted by the presence of such a prominent and influential group of investors. The 95 percent system efficiency of the Hysata electrolyser (41.5 kWh/kg) represents a quantum jump in performance and cost over existing technologies, which typically run at 75 percent or less. This high efficiency, along with a straightforward approach to scale production and little supply chain risk, positions the company to produce the world’s cheapest green hydrogen.
The Series A funding will be utilized to expand the Hysata team and build a pilot manufacturing facility.
“Our mission is to redefine the economics of green hydrogen production through our innovative proprietary electrolyser technology. The support of this international syndicate of clean energy practitioners and investors validates our core technology and our approach to scaling and mass manufacture,” said Paul Barrett, CEO of Hysata.
“Green hydrogen is a vital energy vector on the world’s path to net zero, critical to decarbonising the hard-to-abate, yet vital, sectors of our economy such as steelmaking, heavy transport, and the chemical industry. The extensive end use cases for green hydrogen translate to a greater than trillion-dollar market opportunity.
“Over the last 12-18 months, Hysata has been interacting with dozens of major customers globally. The impact our efficiency and system simplicity delivers to customers’ project economics truly moves the needle. We look forward to continuing to work with our shareholders and customers to bring this much needed technology to market as soon as possible.”
In addition to its original $750,000 investment in the early commercialization of Hysata’s research, the CEFC provided $10 million in the Series A round of finance. Ian Learmonth, the chief executive officer of CEFC, stated that supporting a company like Hysata and its cutting-edge electrolyser technology is essential to the expansion of Australia’s clean technology ecosystem.
“The CEFC is proud to continue our support for Hysata, which is set to be a major player in the global electrolyser industry. Green hydrogen will be essential to addressing the hardest to abate sources of emissions, and we’re excited to see Australian ingenuity providing the technology solutions that will help this industry reach scale. The CEFC has a strong focus on hydrogen related investments through both our Innovation and Advancing Hydrogen Funds and we are delighted to see Hysata continue to advance hydrogen to help meet future energy needs and reduce emissions in more sectors of the Australian economy,” Mr Learmonth said.
The CEFC investment is via its specialist Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which is managed by Virescent Ventures. Virescent Ventures Partner Blair Pritchard said: “Hysata continues to make rapid progress and we are pleased to support such an innovative company with an outstanding team. The continued growth of Hysata is an important pointer to the enormous potential of hydrogen to our net zero future.”
Robert Trezona, the founding partner of Kiko Ventures, stated that Hysata has the potential to become a major worldwide clean technology company.
“Having assessed scores of electrolyser technologies in my 20 years in cleantech, Hysata’s technology stands out as a true breakthrough. The company has redefined the core cell architecture for alkaline electrolysis, producing a practical and scalable solution with game changing efficiency. Hysata has the potential to be a globally significant company in the hydrogen economy and we look forward to supporting its growth, especially here in Europe.” Dr Trezona said.
IP Group Australia’s Managing Director, Michael Molinari, added: “Hysata have assembled a world-class team to bring their revolutionary capillary-fed electrolyser to market. We’re proud to have supported the company from before inception at the University of Wollongong to now redefining the economics of green hydrogen with their electrolyser that is set to scale.”
Todd O’Neill, Head of Vestas Ventures, said: “As the venture capital arm of the global leader in sustainable energy solutions, Vestas Ventures foresees great potential in combining wind power with electrolysers for green hydrogen production. We are delighted to have been invited to invest in Hysata. Nurturing disruptive renewable technologies is central to our investment strategy and we look forward to following Hysata’s success over the coming years.”
Michael Quinn, the General Partner of BlueScopeXTM, felt that Hysata’s technology might play an important role in the commercialization of hydrogen generation.
“BlueScopeXTM is pleased to be investing in Australian technologies coming out of our local communities, with Hysata being born in the Illawarra. Our industry requires smart, affordable technologies like Hysata’s to help progress the broader goal of decarbonization, and we are excited to be supporting them on their path to commercialization,” he said.
