U.S. renewable hydrogen electrolysis company Verdagy has opened a gigawatt-scale electrolyzer manufacturing facility in Newark, California.
The factory, said to be the first Department of Energy (DOE)-supported electrolyzer facility to open in the U.S., features more than 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space with the capacity to produce several gigawatts of electrolyzers.
Verdagy revealed that the company’s manufacturing strategy is to reduce electrolyzer stack costs by implementing advanced manufacturing automations, a product designed for low cost and high reliability and integration of a domestic nickel alloy to a high-volume, automated manufacturing line.
“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 also has the advantage of being nimble and flexible to quickly adjust roadmaps, without conflicts from competing incumbent businesses,” the company claimed.
Verdagy’s manufacturing process will start with ATI company’s metal coils and output finished electrolyzer cells by vertically integrating subassemblies with minimal manual handling and processing. The two parties coined this electrolyzer manufacturing process as “coils-to-cells.”
To note, Verdagy’s gigawatt-scale factory was announced in 2023 and awarded a $39.6 million grant by the DOE in March 2024 to accelerate the high-volume manufacturing of advanced alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) eDynamic electrolyzers. The production is set to begin in the first quarter of 2025.
At the beginning of 2024, energy major Shell technically approved Verdagy’s 20 MW eDynamic electrolyzers after completing a HAZOP (safety) review as well as a design and technology development assessment.