Electrolysers Verdagy opens hydrogen electrolyser gigafactory in California, although it is still mostly 'empty space' Company manufactures 20MW modular ‘advanced’ alkaline machines with an energy efficiency of 41-51kWh/kg.

 Electrolysers

Verdagy opens hydrogen electrolyser gigafactory in California, although it is still mostly 'empty space'

Company manufactures 20MW modular ‘advanced’ alkaline machines with an energy efficiency of 41-51kWh/kg. 

Verdagy, a manufacturer of 20MW “advanced alkaline electrolysers, has opened a factory in Newark, California, that is large enough “to produce several gigawatts of electrolysers”.”

However, according to new agency Bloomberg, “most of Verdagy’s new factory is empty space” at the moment.

The company says that its unique rectangular “eDynamic” electrolysis cells — which are combined to form 20MW electrolysers — have a “leading efficiency” of 41-51kWh/kg, and that they will last for 25 years, compared to six to eight years for some Chinese electrolysers.

The lower efficiency figure would make it the most efficient alkaline electrolyser on the market.

Verdagy, which is headquartered in the coastal town of Moss Landing, California, also says its electrolysers can ramp up and down quickly in response to the variable output of solar and wind power.

The production lines installed at the new factory are highly automated, in a process that starts with metal coils and outputs finished electrolyser cell.

“This manufacturing strategy allows Verdagy to add gigawatts of capacity at costs that are five times lower than that of competitors, enabling massive, financially prudent scaling of capacity,” the company stated.

“High-volume production is set to begin in the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant step forward in the advancement of green hydrogen manufacturing in the United States.”

Production at the factory will be ramped up according to demand, but CEO Marty Neese told Bloomberg that he doesn’t expect first sales to get going until after 2026, when it will complete a green hydrogen project near Houston, Texas, that will demonstrates its 20MW modules.

That project is “an enabler to get the first units moving, the first sales going, and then we’ll go from there”, Neese told Bloomberg.

Verdagy also claims that that its new electrolyser plant is the first in the US to open after receiving funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE); it was awarded a $39.6m grant in March this year.

However, Electric Hydrogen — a start-up backed by billionaire investors that produces 100MW electrolysers — opened its gigafactory in Massachusetts in April this year after receiving a $46.2m grant from the DOE.