28-09-2022

Yara Clean Ammonia joins HyPilot project with Hystar, Equinor, and Gassco

Hystar AS today announces that Yara Clean Ammonia has joined the HyPilot project, which will see the first in-field test of Hystar’s 1 MW containerized electrolyser. The PEM electrolyser will be commissioned in the second half of 2023 at the KÃ¥rstø Gas Processing Plant in Rogaland, Norway, operated by Gassco.

HyPilot will verify Hystar’s patented PEM technology under realistic field conditions, using a containerized PEM electrolyser, in partnership with industry leaders. The electrolyser will be run for a total of 10,000 hours, providing performance data from various operating regimes to verify long-term commercial operation.

As one of the largest fertiliser producers in the world, Yara’s interest in the project is primarily around the use of hydrogen for the production of green ammonia. The results from the HyPilot project will demonstrate how Hystar’s world-leading electrolysers can be utilized to reduce the cost of green hydrogen for the production of green ammonia on an industrial scale.

As a key player in offshore wind, Equinor will demonstrate dynamic hydrogen production tailored to suit the variable output typically found in wind applications. Therefore, testing and verification will be conducted both in ‘efficiency’ and ‘dynamic’ modes, ensuring HyPilot drives value both in renewable energy generation and the optimization of the production of green hydrogen in industrial processes.Compared to conventional PEM electrolysers, the membrane in Hystar’s patented design is significantly thinner, providing better efficiency due to lower resistance across the membrane. Hystar’s unrivalled efficiencies mark a key step in making green hydrogen production cheaper, supporting the global transition to clean energy across a range of high-emission sectors.

HyPilot will further drive ambitious and targeted industry efforts to reduce carbon emissions and realise the potential of hydrogen, with the IEA predicting that the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable electricity could fall 30% by 2030. Hystar’s recent test results show we are already able to meet or even exceed the European targets.

Fredrik Mowill, CEO of Hystar, says: “HyPilot marks a significant moment for the hydrogen industry, bringing together leading industry names to showcase Hystar’s patented, ultra-efficient electrolysers. Today’s announcement is a key step towards scaling up and enabling widespread commercial deployment of large-scale green hydrogen production.

We are pleased that Yara, Enova, Equinor, and Gassco share our vision of commercializing technology for lower-cost green hydrogen. Working together in the years ahead will enable us to drive unseen levels of cost and production efficiencies across hard-to-abate sectors.”

Lise Winther, SVP Upstream Projects & Technologies in Yara Clean Ammonia, adds: “We look forward to collaborating with Hystar and studying the results of the 1 MW pilot electrolyser project. The knowledge we gain from the HyPilot project will give valuable input to our work in developing green ammonia for fertilizer, deep-sea shipping, and power production.”

Ahead of the HyPilot launch, Hystar had already engineered and designed the novel concept, having undertaken two years of stack optimization and more than 5,000 hours of testing. As a spinoff company of SINTEF, one of Europe’s largest independent research organizations, Hystar has a background of over 15 years of research into PEM technology. Over the coming months, Hystar will engage in the construction of a complete, autonomous, containerized PEM electrolyser, with a hydrogen production capacity of up to 500 kg/day.