Johnson Matthey (JM) and Hystar, a Norwegian company specializing in PEM electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen by water electrolysis, have signed a three-year strategic supply agreement. This delivers on JM’s published milestone of winning at least two strategic partnerships in hydrogen technologies by the end of 2022/23.

Hystar offers two product lines of PEM electrolyzer systems, Vega and Mira. Vega is optimized for high efficiency; compared to conventional PEM electrolysers, Vega has a 10% lower energy usage, yet still provides the same broad flexibility and partial load opportunities as other PEM electrolysers.

Mira is designed to provide optimized performance for systems powered by intermittent energy sources, such as wind, solar (PV), or unregulated hydro. Mira is also ideal for applications with a variable hydrogen production rate, or where the demand for hydrogen is variable.

JM will supply membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), key performance-defining components for electrolyzers, as part of Hystar’s commercialization ramp-up. This represents the next step in the collaboration between the two companies which began in 2021, focused on electrolyzer stack development and manufacturing scale-up, using the components provided by JM and Hystar’s patented cell design.

As part of the ongoing collaboration, JM will supply MEAs for the Hystar PEM electrolyzers to be used in the HyPilot project in Norway. The HyPilot project will verify Hystar’s patented PEM technology under realistic field conditions, in collaboration with industry leaders Yara and Equinor, with end market demand driven by the trends in food production and energy security.

As part of the project, Hystar will deliver a complete, autonomous, containerized PEM electrolyzer with a hydrogen production capacity of up to 745 kg/day.

Hystar’s recent test results show the company already exceeds the Clean Hydrogen for Europe 2030 targets for clean hydrogen production. Hystar and JM will work in partnership to continue improving the performance of Hystar’s electroly ers and design circularity principles into the system.

Both partners will continue the collaboration to enable further scale up and automation for Hystar’s planned multi GW production line, which is expected to be operational by 2025.