Green hydrogen faces a tough rollout. The technology is expensive, complex, and difficult to scale up to industrial levels. But a Norwegian technology company has developed a new solution.

Hystar AS has launched Orion, a 20 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer cluster designed for large-scale, cost-effective green hydrogen production. It is built on Hystar’s patented, high-efficiency electrolyzer technology. 

Interestingly, the Orion cluster maintains optimal energy efficiency, whether operating at minimum capacity or full throttle. This wide operating range is supported by a highly resilient, inherently safe structural design that withstands the harsh, fluctuating conditions of heavy industrial environments. 

As it delivers reliable performance under pressure, the architecture serves as a stable, scalable foundation. The setup can be easily adapted to fit both small-scale pilot facilities and massive multi-megawatt production plants.

“Orion will enable standardization and accelerated deployment of large-scale green hydrogen projects,” said Fredrik Mowill, CEO of Hystar. “By combining high efficiency with a modular, cluster-based design, we enable our partners to scale projects quickly while also reducing both CAPEX and OPEX. ” 

Modular & flexible design

Each Orion cluster operates independently. It gives plant operators excellent flexibility to ramp up or down hydrogen production to match shifting levels of renewable energy.

To streamline deployment, the entire system is skid-mounted. This means components are pre-assembled onto a structural frame for easy truck transport and quick on-site installation. 

Furthermore, the cluster design builds a layer of protective redundancy directly into the facility. If one unit requires routine maintenance, it can be taken offline safely without forcing a total plant shutdown, maximizing overall uptime and ensuring continuous industrial availability.

“Its skid-mounted configuration simplifies transportation and installation, and the built-in redundancy maximizes uptime and operational availability,” the company stated. 

The launch is already capturing the attention of major global engineering firms.

Hystar has partnered with Texas-based engineering giant McDermott to design a turnkey 100 MW green hydrogen plant layout using these exact clusters.

The ready-to-deploy blueprint is designed to take the guesswork out of procurement, lower technical risks, and shorten the time it takes to get a large-scale project from paper to production.

“This further strengthens Hystar’s position as a leading technology provider, enabling efficient and cost-effective large-scale green hydrogen worldwide,” the company stated. 

Demand for green hydrogen

Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water with electricity. It is a vital tool for cleaning up hard-to-abate sectors like steel production, shipping, and chemical manufacturing. 

It serves as an important tool of the global energy transition, acting as a highly efficient and versatile energy carrier capable of decarbonizing sectors where direct electrification falls short. 

However, the high cost of electricity and the expense of components have typically made it uncompetitive with fossil fuels.

Hystar’s unique, patented system uses membranes that are significantly thinner than those in conventional designs. This allows their electrolyzers to use up to 10 percent less energy while producing more hydrogen per unit area.

The company is currently targeting a 45 percent reduction in its stack costs by the end of this year compared to 2023 levels. 

As global manufacturing capacity for electrolyzers races to meet climate goals, the companies that win the market will be the ones that make deployment painless. With Orion, Hystar is betting that the future of massive clean energy installations lies in mastering the small, repeatable block.