The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed up to USD 49 million to help Hysata establish a commercial-scale electrolyser manufacturing facility at Port Kembla in New South Wales, marking a significant step in Australia's push to develop sovereign clean energy manufacturing capability.

A Project With Room to Grow

The total project is valued at USD 98 million, with ARENA contributing half of that figure under the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. The facility will initially establish a 50 megawatt per annum manufacturing line, but has been designed with expansion in mind. Through 24-hour operations, the site is intended to scale up to 200 megawatts per annum as market demand increases.

The project will focus on producing Hysata's capillary-fed electrolyser technology, which was developed from research conducted at the University of Wollongong. The technology is intended to produce renewable hydrogen more efficiently than conventional approaches, with the aim of lowering production costs and supporting efforts to decarbonise industries that are difficult to transition away from fossil fuels.

Targeting Hard-to-Abate Industries

Hysata's electrolyser technology is specifically positioned to serve sectors where electrification is not straightforward. According to ARENA, the target markets include steelmaking, chemicals, shipping and heavy transport — industries that have historically relied on fossil fuel inputs and where renewable hydrogen is seen as one of the more viable pathways to reducing emissions.

The project also includes the deployment of early commercial megawatt-scale electrolyser systems. ARENA described this as a means of demonstrating the technology in real-world applications, which is intended to support future commercial growth and validate the performance of the capillary-fed design outside of laboratory conditions.

Local Component Manufacturing at the Core

A central element of the Port Kembla project is the planned local manufacture of core electrolyser components. Membranes, anodes and cathodes are among the components that Hysata intends to produce at the facility. ARENA highlighted this aspect of the project as a direct contribution to Australia's sovereign manufacturing capability and the development of domestic clean energy supply chains.

The choice of Port Kembla as the manufacturing site places the facility in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, an area with an existing industrial base and historical ties to heavy industry, including steelmaking.

Jobs and Workforce Development in the Illawarra

ARENA expects the project to generate approximately 40 new skilled jobs across manufacturing, engineering and technical roles in the Illawarra region. Beyond direct employment at the facility, Hysata has committed to working with the University of Wollongong and TAFE NSW Illawarra to deliver training programs, internships and skills development pathways.

The stated purpose of these workforce initiatives is to build the local talent pipeline required to sustain the clean energy transition over the longer term, connecting the manufacturing project to broader educational and training institutions already operating in the region.

ARENA's Rationale for the Investment

ARENA Chief Executive Darren Miller framed the investment in terms of Australia's ability to capture economic value from the global energy transition, rather than simply consuming technologies developed elsewhere.

"Australia has world-class clean energy innovators, and Hysata is a great example of home-grown technology with the potential to compete globally," Miller said. He described the project as a means of moving Australian innovation from laboratory settings into large-scale manufacturing, with the dual benefit of creating skilled employment and reinforcing domestic capability.

Miller also connected the electrolyser manufacturing project to the longer-term ambition of building a renewable hydrogen sector in Australia. "By supporting advanced manufacturing of electrolysers here in Australia, we're helping build the industries that can underpin a future renewable hydrogen sector and create long-term economic opportunities," he said.

From University Research to Commercial Scale

Hysata's technology traces its origins to research conducted at the University of Wollongong, and the Port Kembla project maintains that institutional connection through the planned training and workforce development partnership. The progression from university research to commercial manufacturing represents a trajectory that ARENA cited as emblematic of the kind of domestic innovation pathway the agency aims to support.

The capillary-fed electrolyser design is the central technological proposition underpinning the project, with Hysata having developed it specifically with efficiency improvements in mind. By producing hydrogen more efficiently, the technology is intended to contribute to cost reductions that have been widely identified as a prerequisite for renewable hydrogen to compete with fossil fuel-derived alternatives at commercial scale.

The funding was announced under the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund, a program designed to support the development and commercialisation of clean energy technologies with domestic manufacturing potential.

Australian Hydrogen Ambitions Demand Smarter Project Intelligence

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