Norway-based green hydrogen tech company Hystar AS announced today that it has raised $26 million in a Series B funding round, with proceeds aimed at helping the company scale up to full commercial operations.

Launched in 2020 as a spinoff of European research organization SINTEF, Hystar produces highly efficient polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers enabling affordable production of hydrogen from renewable electricity.

Hydrogen is viewed as one of the key building blocks of the transition to a cleaner energy future, particularly for sectors with difficult to abate emissions, in which renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar are less practical.

Around 90 million metric tons of hydrogen are produced annually, although the vast majority is extracted using fossil fuels, which create pollutants and GHG emissions. The development of clean hydrogen capacity, such as green hydrogen, which uses renewable energy to power the process to extract hydrogen from other materials, will require massive investments in areas including infrastructure, electrolysis, and transport.

According to Hystar, its PEM electrolyzer design enables the production of up to 150% more green hydrogen, through the utilization of a 90% thinner membrane than conventional electrolyzers.

The company said that it aims to install its first GW automated manufacturing facility by 2025.

Fredrik Mowill, CEO of Hystar, said:

“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.”

Along with the expansion of its commercial operations, the company said the new funding will also help to fuel the company’s growth and expansion into new markets and will increase its ability to deliver on larger projects that extend beyond 100 megawatts.

The funding round was co-led by AP Ventures and Mitsubishi Corporation with participation from additional investors including Finindus, Nippon Steel Trading, Hillhouse Investment, Trustbridge Partners, SINTEF Ventures and Firda.

Charlie Clark, Investment Manager at AP Ventures, said:

“We have been hugely impressed by the technical results and growth that Hystar has delivered over the past few years. We are pleased to have co-led this Series B funding round alongside Mitsubishi Corporation to enable Hystar to deploy automated capacity to scale the production of its world-leading PEM electrolyser technology. We look forward to continuing to support Hystar as it works to produce ultra-efficient green hydrogen which will be vital to support global efforts to decarbonize industry and society.”

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