UK technology company Johnson Matthey (JM) has strengthened its ties with Norwegian electrolyser developer Hystar by agreeing to supply membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) for use in the Hypilot green hydrogen demonstration project in Norway.

The three-year deal represents an extension of a strategic collaboration between the two companies that began in 2021 and gives JM a role in Hypilot, which already has backing from global fertiliser manufacturer Yara and Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor.

“This strategic agreement with Hystar is an important endorsement of JM’s electrolyser technology” Wilson, Johnson Matthey

Under the deal, JM will supply MEAs for proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) electrolysers used in Hypilot, which is designed to verify Hystar's new ultra-efficient PEM technology under realistic field conditions.

"This strategic agreement with Hystar is an important endorsement of JM's electrolyser technology, manufacturing capability, supply chain access and our circularity offering,” says Mark Wilson, CEO of hydrogen technologies at JM. “Partnerships such as this that bring together complementary capabilities and strengths of different organisations are essential to the development of the hydrogen economy."

MEAs consist of catalyst-coated membranes, seals and gas diffusion layers (another two additional layers, giving total of seven). As such, MEAs contain the three-layer catalyst-coated membrane that is JM's primary area of focus and drives the electrochemical reactions.

Oslo-based Hystar says its PEM electrolysers are the most efficient in the world. The design enables the use of a 90pc thinner membrane than conventional electrolysers, cutting energy use by 10pc and reducing the use of critical raw materials.

"Hystar's class-leading PEM electrolyser is undergoing a ramp-up to gigawatt-scale production capacity,” says Fredrik Mowill, CEO of Hystar. “As part of our growth plans, Hystar will partner with strategic suppliers, such as JM, who possess state-of-the-art technology [and] mass manufacturing capacity, as well as the ability to pursue future technology developments."

Earlier this year, Hystar secured $26mn in a Series B funding round co-led by venture capital firm AP Ventures and Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi. Additional investors in the round included Belgium-based Finindus, Japan’s Nippon Steel Trading, private equity firm Hillhouse Investment and Shanghai-headquartered Trustbridge Partners, as well as existing investors venture capital firm Sintef Ventures and investment company Firda.

Hystar aims to use the capital to scale up commercial operations, with an automated gigawatt-capacity production line in place by 2025.

Collaboration

JM has prioritised the formation of partnerships in the hydrogen technology sector as part of a new strategy unveiled in 2022. To execute the strategy, the company brought in a new senior management team that includes former BP executive Mark Wilson.

The firm is targeting more than £200mn ($249mn) of sales in its hydrogen technologies division by the end of 2024–25. In January, it signed a strategic partnership agreement with US fuel-cell firm Plug Power.

JM has also invested in Enapter, a commercial leader in anion-exchange-membrane electrolysis, as part of a wider plan to invest £1bn in clean hydrogen research, development and deployment technologies by 2030.

Other alliances formed by JM include a project with technology company Honeywell to bring a blue hydrogen technology to market. JM is also collaborating with the investment arm of Chinese NOC Sinopec on green and blue hydrogen, fuel cells and other decarbonisation technologies.

JM is also developing a plant to produce 3GW/yr of components for PEM fuel cells for hydrogen vehicles at its UK Royston plant, which is expected to start up in the first half of 2024.

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Author: Stuart Penson