Hysata Pty Ltd., an Australian clean energy technology startup, is working with Morgan Stanley to help raise as much as A$100 million ($68 million) in a series B round.
The bank is helping Hysata to solicit fresh investment in the coming weeks, Chief Executive Officer Paul Barrett said in an interview Wednesday. The company will use the funds to expand production of its electrolyzers, a critical component in extracting energy from hydrogen.
Why Hydrogen Is the Hottest Thing in Green Energy: QuickTake
“Economics are key and we’ve got a technology that enables a transformative impact on the cost of green hydrogen,” Barrett said.
Adoption of hydrogen as a potential source of clean energy is facing hurdles such as elevated production costs and a lack of infrastructure, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. The US and other governments are offering subsidies to encourage companies to embrace the fuel.
Read more: China Leading Race to Make Technology Vital for Green Hydrogen
Hysata is looking for capital to expand an 8,000 square meter manufacturing line at its Wollongong headquarters in order to deliver on letters of intent and conditional orders for 9.4 gigawatts of electrolyzer conversion capacity before 2030, Barrett said.
“By the time the major deployments scale up from tens of megawatts to gigawatts in the latter half of the decade, we’ll have the production capacity and the technology proven in the field,” according to Barrett.
The startup secured A$42.5 million last year in a series A round led by Virescent Ventures on behalf of Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corp., according to its website. IP Group Australia, the venture capital arm of the world’s biggest wind turbine maker, Vestas Wind Systems A/S, and BlueScope Steel Ltd. also participated.
Hysata is close to inking a joint development agreement with a major wind technology manufacturer, and plans to produce 100 megawatts of electrolyzers annually after raising the series B round, Barrett said.
--With assistance from Janet Paskin.
