Green hydrogen startup spotlight - 1s1 Energy

Heather Johnstone spotlights 1s1 Energy, a new startup venture cutting the costs of green hydrogen production via innovative electrolyser solutions.

Green hydrogen has enormous potential in helping Europe and the rest of the world decarbonise, especially in hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy industry or heating. But realising this is not without its challenges and one of the most significant is the high cost of green hydrogen compared to either grey or blue.

Having said that, BloombergNEF released a study earlier this year that concluded the sky-rocketing gas prices, brought on by the war in Ukraine, may already mean that green hydrogen is now at cost parity.

According to its Ukraine War Makes Green Hydrogen Competitive study, grey hydrogen now has a levelised cost of $6.71/kg in the EMEA region, while for green or renewable hydrogen it’s $4.84-6.68/kg. Although positive news, we must not allow it to mask what we need to do.

If we’re serious about green hydrogen being a vital part of our energy mix going forward, its cost cannot be dependent on the price of gas (sound familiar?). It must become cost competitive in its own right by bringing its levelised cost down to below $2/kg by 2030.

No easy feat, but it is here where innovation and innovators have a vital role. And one such innovator is 1s1 Energy.

Also of interest:
€5.2 billion for hydrogen ‘important project of common European interest’
Site visit: How Siemens Energy is future-proofing the gas turbine with hydrogen in Berlin

I spoke to Daniel Sobek, Ph.D.,Co-Founder & CEO of 1s1 Energy, to learn a bit more about the innovator and how they are working to advance green hydrogen production.

What is your green hydrogen solution and what are its USPs?

1s1 Energy is developing next-generation water electrolysis systems for green hydrogen production.

A focus on materials innovation allows us to address barriers to adoption, such as improving the efficiency and durability of the electrochemical cell. In parallel, we are offering those new materials as components for PEM fuel cells.

Our solution significantly reduces the cost of producing and using green hydrogen within an accelerated timeframe. We are developing materials with unique properties that enhance the performance and durability of electrochemical cells.

Further focus on the design of vertically-integrated electrolysis modules will provide a versatile tool for integrating cost-efficient solutions for both distributed and centralised hydrogen generation.

How does your solution genuinely contribute to the successful transition to a low-carbon future?

Our solution directly tackles barriers to adopting green hydrogen, catalysing decarbonisation efforts.

We plan to massively scale 1s1’s manufacturing capability once we complete the construction of a 300MW production facility and validate the market. We contemplate a future where 1s1 delivers thousands of MWs of equipment per year and with 1s1 components in a good portion of fuel cells.

What have the milestones been so far, and what are the next ones?

We synthesised the first version of our materials for the electrochemical cell, both for water electrolysis and fuel cell applications. The next milestone in our technology roadmap is building a 20kW electrolysis stack prototype which will be ready in 2023.

Additionally, 1s1 is working on a second-generation electrochemical cell for operation at elevated temperatures of up to 200°C.

What words of wisdom do you have for other start-ups beginning their entrepreneurial journey?

Seek customer and investor feedback early in the technology development and commercialisation process. Also, work relentlessly toward solving ‘chicken-and-egg problems’ associated with any new project.