Illawarra-based green hydrogen start-up Hysata plans to employ hundreds of locals at its manufacturing hub in Port Kembla as it prepares to go to "giga scale".
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The company's 8000 square metre factory was opened by Minister for Energy and Climate Change Chris Bowen on Monday, August 14.
Once fully operational, Hysata will produce electrolysers from the Darcy Road site which will split water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen.
The first, five megawatt unit will be sent to Queensland, where it will be trialled at the Stanwell Power Station in Rockhampton.
![Hysata CEO Paul Barrett presents the company's electrolyser to energy and climate change minister Chris Bowen. Picture by Robert Peet Hysata CEO Paul Barrett presents the company's electrolyser to energy and climate change minister Chris Bowen. Picture by Robert Peet](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/123041529/69d8efe3-a131-4514-a899-46b703e1e4e7.jpg/r0_207_5472_3283_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
That project alone will create 44 jobs, but Hysata CEO Paul Barrett said the factory had the potential to produce many more by 2025 when it begins commercial production.
"By 2025, we'll have hundreds of jobs and with good execution by the end of the decade we'll have thousands of jobs."
Hysata has commercialised technology developed by researchers at the University of Wollongong to more efficiently separate hydrogen and oxygen in water.
The technique, developed by Professor Gerhard Sweigers, is 20 per cent more efficient than current technology, making green hydrogen more commercially attractive than cheaper alternatives produced from fossil fuels.
The current project is supported by a $20 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, and follows a joint Australian-German government grant where Hysata received millions of euros to build a 200kW electrolyser system.
"Here was the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the industrial powerhouse of Europe, saying we want to invest in Hysata, in Wollongong," Mr Bowen said.
![The launch of Hysata's manufacturing lab in Port Kembla. Picture by Robert Peet The launch of Hysata's manufacturing lab in Port Kembla. Picture by Robert Peet](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/123041529/21328178-9593-4ab4-9cd7-10879e60b142.jpg/r0_280_5472_3369_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Green hydrogen is touted as a key ingredient in the decarbonisation of sectors such as steel making and heavy transport.
In July, Coregas - which produces grey hydrogen in Port Kembla - launched the country's first commercial hydrogen refuelling station in Port Kembla and the NSW government will invest $28.5 million in a hydrogen production and refuelling centre at BOC's plant in Cringila.
Mr Barrett said there was a future where locally made electrolysers were part of the development of the Illawarra as a hydrogen hub.
"Across Australia, there's a high probability we'll see electrolyzers helping decarbonise those hard to abate sectors, steel, chemical manufacture, high grade industrially and heavy transportation."
Once past the trial phase, Mr Barrett said the company plans to scale up to "giga scale" manufacturing in the Illawarra.
"We've got 8000 square metres on the roof, which gives us a huge space to grow that manufacturing capacity."
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