HyWaves says a new economic analysis shows its H2Top DC-native power management technology could significantly reduce both the capital cost and long-term cost of producing green hydrogen by simplifying the way renewable electricity is connected to electrolysers.
The company, which develops power electronics for hydrogen production, worked with an unnamed Tier 1 hydrogen equipment supplier to evaluate the lifetime economics of three different power architectures for a 5 MW solar-powered alkaline electrolysis plant. The study compared a conventional AC-coupled system, a central DC-DC converter design, and HyWaves’ proprietary DC-native approach.
According to the analysis, the H2Top architecture achieved the lowest Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) over a 25-year project lifetime. The company reported that the system reduced hydrogen production costs by 27.3% compared with a conventional AC-coupled configuration and by around 10% compared with a central DC-DC architecture.
Unlike conventional hydrogen plants, which convert electricity several times between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) before it reaches the electrolyser, HyWaves’ system is designed to keep electricity in DC form from the solar array to the electrolyser. Because both solar photovoltaic panels and electrolysers naturally operate on DC electricity, the company argues that eliminating unnecessary conversion stages can reduce equipment requirements, energy losses and maintenance costs.
The economic assessment also found that the DC-native design lowered initial investment costs. For the 5 MW reference project, the study estimated a total installed capital cost of £5.08 million for the H2Top configuration, compared with £5.25 million for a central DC-DC system and £5.92 million for a conventional AC-based design. That represents an estimated upfront saving of more than £840,000 relative to the traditional approach.
In addition to reducing capital expenditure, the study concluded that maintenance requirements could also be lower. Conventional systems typically require replacement of string inverters or large central converters during the plant’s lifetime, while the H2Top architecture relies on lower-cost switching components that can reportedly be replaced without interrupting plant operations.
HyWaves also said its modelling indicates conventional AC-based systems lose approximately 11.7% of electrical energy through power conversion before electricity reaches the electrolyser. The company states that field testing has demonstrated around 15% higher overall system performance under variable solar conditions compared with an equivalent AC-connected system, allowing more hydrogen to be produced from the same amount of renewable electricity.
The analysis included sensitivity testing across different project scenarios, with HyWaves reporting that its DC-native architecture maintained the lowest hydrogen production costs even under conservative assumptions for equipment degradation and operating conditions.
As developers seek to improve the economics of large-scale green hydrogen production, attention is increasingly shifting beyond electrolyser efficiency to the overall design of hydrogen plants. HyWaves argues that simplifying power architecture and reducing the number of electrical conversion stages could become an important factor in lowering the cost of renewable hydrogen as the industry scales.
The economic findings are based on modelling conducted by HyWaves in collaboration with a Tier 1 hydrogen supplier, and the company has indicated that a full report is available upon request.