Estonian electrolyser manufacturer Stargate Hydrogen has secured a €20.6 million ($23.7m) EU grant to scale up its operations to supply “affordable” green hydrogen to steel, chemicals, and other energy-intensive sectors, Kallanish learns from a company statement.
The EU Innovation Fund grant will help expand the firm’s manufacturing facility in Tallinn, Estonia, to produce 250 MW/year of electrodes, 150 MW/y of stacks, and 66 MW/y of electrolyser systems.
“With the help of the Innovation Fund, we truly step up our game,” comments Marko Virkebau, chief executive of Stargate Hydrogen. “After the factory expansion is finalised, Stargate will become one of the largest electrolyser manufacturers in Europe.”
The factory opened last year with an initial manufacturing capacity of 140 MW/y of electrolysers. At the time, Stargate said it was “well-positioned” to bring down the cost of green hydrogen and help decarbonise sectors such as steel, fertilisers, and chemicals.
The company says its alkaline electrolyser technology uses a ceramic-based catalyst material, instead of precious metals, which reduces the reliance on imported critical raw materials, while enabling highly efficient hydrogen production. According to its website, this leads to “significantly lower hydrogen production costs and makes the electrolysers affordable for end-users.”
High cost of green hydrogen is one of the key barriers to its wider adoption, despite its decarbonisation potential. A recent report by trade body Hydrogen Council found that the steel sector accounts for just 5% of binding clean hydrogen offtake agreements globally, with the industry favouring decarbonisation routes other than hydrogen in the near term.
Yet, Stargate says its project is expected to avoid 3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions in the first ten years of operation by “supporting broader deployment of affordable green hydrogen across hard-to-abate industries”.
Author: Reethu Ravi
