Hysata Capillary-Fed Alkaline Electrolyser

Hysata is an Australian electrolyser company based in Wollongong, New South Wales, that launched in 2021. It addresses the main cost driver of green hydrogen, the electricity consumed by electrolysis, by commercialising a much more efficient cell design for producers serving hard-to-abate industries.

Its capillary-fed alkaline electrolysis draws the electrolyte up to the electrodes through a capillary instead of submerging them, which enables bubble-free operation and, together with an ultra-low resistance separator, collapses cell resistance. The company reports 95% system efficiency, or 41.5 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen. Less waste heat means less cooling and liquid handling, so the turnkey system has a simplified balance of plant and is designed for mass manufacturing at its Port Kembla facility.

• Capillary-fed cell: electrolyte is wicked to the electrodes instead of submerging them.
• Bubble-free operation: removes gas bubbles that waste energy in conventional cells.
• Ultra-low resistance separator: cuts internal cell resistance.
• 41.5 kWh/kg efficiency: reported 95% system efficiency, published in Nature Communications.
• Simplified balance of plant: less waste heat means less cooling and liquid handling.
• Turnkey modular system: designed for mass manufacturing and giga-scale projects.

Developers of offshore wind or solar-to-hydrogen projects in southern and central Vietnam could use high-efficiency electrolysers to cut power demand per kilogram of hydrogen. Fertiliser producers could evaluate green ammonia pilots with lower electricity costs. Refineries could test electrolytic hydrogen to replace part of the grey hydrogen they use.

Higher efficiency lowers the levelised cost of hydrogen because electricity is the largest cost component; the company says its system is around 20% better than incumbent electrolysers. From the same gigawatt of renewable power, Hysata estimates its electrolysers yield about 120,000 tonnes more green ammonia per year. A simplified balance of plant reduces cooling equipment and plant complexity.

Green hydrogen and green ammonia are being planned for refining, fertiliser, steel and shipping fuels, but their cost is dominated by power prices, so electrolyser efficiency is a key lever. Vietnam's 2024 hydrogen strategy and renewable-rich sites in Southeast Asia create demand for lower-cost production technology as early projects move from feasibility to procurement.

Hysata launched in 2021 and has more than 120 employees in Wollongong and Port Kembla. In February 2025 it signed a commercial-scale demonstration agreement with ACWA Power in Saudi Arabia, and in December 2024 announced an electrolyser partnership with POSCO Holdings and POSCO E&C. In June 2026 it received its first commercial megawatt-scale order for delivery in the first half of 2027.