Australian electrolyser manufacturer Hysata is set to establish a commercial-scale manufacturing line at Port Kembla after the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced up to $49 million in funding for the project.
The $98 million project will establish a manufacturing line capable of producing 50 MW of Hysata’s Australian-developed capillary-fed electrolyser technology each year. The facility is designed to scale to 200 MW annually through 24-hour operations as demand grows.
Hysata’s technology was developed from research at the University of Wollongong and is designed to produce renewable hydrogen more efficiently. The technology is intended to help lower costs and support the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries including steelmaking, chemicals, shipping and heavy transport.
The project will also involve the deployment of early commercial megawatt-scale electrolyser systems, providing opportunities to demonstrate the technology in real-world applications and support its commercial development.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said building local manufacturing capability for renewable energy technologies would be critical to capturing more value from the energy transition.
“Australia has world-class clean energy innovators, and Hysata is a great example of home-grown technology with the potential to compete globally,” Mr Miller said.
“This project will help move Australian innovation from the lab into large-scale manufacturing, creating skilled jobs while strengthening Australia’s capability to produce critical clean energy technologies locally.”
The project is expected to create around 40 new skilled jobs across manufacturing, engineering and technical roles in the Illawarra region.
Hysata will work with the University of Wollongong and TAFE NSW Illawarra to provide training, internships and skills development pathways. The partnerships are intended to help develop the local workforce needed to support the clean energy transition.
The project will also include local manufacture of core electrolyser components, including membranes, anodes and cathodes.
According to ARENA, local production of these components will support Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability and strengthen clean energy supply chains.
The project is being funded through the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund.
Miller said the investment would also support the development of industries around renewable hydrogen.
“By supporting advanced manufacturing of electrolysers here in Australia, we’re helping build the industries that can underpin a future renewable hydrogen sector and create long-term economic opportunities.”
