Manifesto: The quest for better electrolyzers
In conversation with…
Guy Verkoeyen – Director of Business Development, Exion Hydrogen
Based on decades of combined experience and advanced R&D into hydrogen production, Exion Hydrogen are designing and developing a new generation of more robust, reliable, and efficient water electrolyzers to ensure safe and affordable on-site hydrogen generation. Exion Hydrogen is a privately owned company founded in 2021 by ZE PAK S.A. and Cyfrowy Polsat S.A., with headquarters and production plant in Gdansk, Poland, and R&D based in Turnhout, Belgium. The team consists of industry veterans and highly skilled scientists and engineers.
Exion Hydrogen’s operations are guided by its manifesto. Could you start by giving a brief description of the manifesto, including how and why it was produced and the importance of having these guiding principles?
In early 2024, as we prepared the go-to-market launch of our first commercial product, the HyGGe™ 100A alkaline water electrolyzer, one question stood out: how do we clearly communicate our added value in a crowded marketplace? After three multidisciplinary workshops, our guiding principles crystallised into the Exion Hydrogen Manifesto — the backbone of both our strategy and our communications. It gave us alignment, clarity, and a clear compass in our quest for better electrolyzers.
From this journey came our tagline: “We build better electrolyzers.” More than ambition, it has become a conversation starter and a promise — one we back up with proof through our designs, our operations, and our relentless focus on quality and reliability. The manifesto is not just words; it is embedded in everything we do, and how we do it.
Tell us a little more about the team at Exion Hydrogen and what experience you bring.
In our dual-location setup — Gdańsk (Poland) for production and operations, and Turnhout (Belgium) for R&D and business development — both sites act as true clusters of experience and expertise. Although still a relatively young company, our management and design team draws on decades of hands-on experience in developing and producing integrated water electrolyzer solutions in the design and production of integrated water electrolyzer solutions.
Our engineers, backed by deep industry expertise, were able to start from a blank sheet — free of legacy constraints, delivering uncompromised design focused on reliability and robustness, and always guided by our manifesto.
The Exion Hydrogen manifesto centers around the idea of a new generation of water electrolyzers, designed with a fresh perspective to avoid compromises tied to legacy choices. Can you tell us a little more about these compromises and the changes you have made to create better electrolyzers?
Too many legacy electrolyzers forced trade-offs — efficiency vs durability, inferior material choices versus reliability, and footprint versus maintainability. At Exion Hydrogen, we started fresh. By combining premium materials with a smart, modular design and a containerized, service-friendly architecture, we’ve eliminated those compromises. We deliver EU-compliant electrolyzer systems; good working units that keep on working, that are safer, more flexible, and better aligned with today’s industrial hydrogen needs.
Exion Hydrogen’s HyGGe™ 100A. Image ©Exion Hydrogen
Exion Hydrogen’s electrolyzers are suitable for various project sizes and specifications. Could you give us an example of a particular project that proved to be more of a challenge, where you had to think a little more ‘outside the box’?
It is not as much a matter of thinking outside the box, rather it is ensuring a good understanding of the technical requirements and specifics of each and every customer project.
One example is a glass manufacturer, where the furnaces require a constant supply of high-purity hydrogen to maintain their reducing atmosphere. The challenge was twofold: not only to guarantee gas purity and stable flow, but also to ensure reliability under fluctuating load conditions without jeopardising production continuity.
With our modular HyGGe™ 100A, we were able to match production precisely to demand, scaling output as needed including redundancy without completely oversizing the system. In addition, the built-in dual redundancy meant that even if a stack or unit required servicing, uptime was safeguarded. Our fresh approach eliminated the need for oversizing the system, whilst still ensuring efficient and reliable hydrogen production in all circumstances relevant to the project.
From day one, our conversations with new customers and interested parties have been grounded in real-world experience, not theoretical scenarios.
Testing at every stage is a key principle of the manifesto, including performance tests onsite at Exion Hydrogen that customers are invited along to before shipping. What are the benefits to customers witnessing these performance tests and does the customer have any input at this stage?
Inviting customers to witness performance tests at our facilities before shipment goes far beyond reassurance — it gives them firsthand confirmation that the electrolyzer meets every specification under real operating conditions. Technical buyers can validate key parameters such as purity, flow rate, and pressure before the unit even leaves our factory. This approach reduces project risk, accelerates commissioning, and ensures that what arrives onsite is already proven and ready to integrate. Just as importantly, it builds trust and transparency: customers see that Exion Hydrogen doesn’t simply make claims — we demonstrate performance.
These sessions are also highly collaborative. Customers often use the opportunity to verify integration points with their DCS or SCADA systems, or to test operability features tailored to their site. For Exion Hydrogen, this marks a shared milestone — a moment to align expectations and fine-tune where necessary.
The result is smoother installation, fewer surprises, and faster time to hydrogen production for demanding applications such as steel, glass, and renewable energy projects.
Looking in more detail at one of the 8 key variables in Exion Hydrogen’s manifesto, electrolyzers specifications by design, the HyGGe™ 100A electrolyzer is described as a scalable, flexible solution. Tell us more about how it can serve diverse sectors and applications.
The HyGGe™ 100A was developed with scalability and flexibility at its foundation, making it suitable for a broad spectrum of industrial applications.
In flat glass production, it delivers the continuous stream of high-purity hydrogen needed to maintain reducing atmospheres and prevent oxidation.
In metallurgy, its modular design allows anywhere from one to five units to be deployed depending on demand, ensuring reliable supply for processes such as annealing and sintering without unnecessary oversizing.
In electronics, it provides high-grade hydrogen as a solid base for further purification to semiconductor-level requirements — demonstrating how a single platform adapts seamlessly to diverse technical needs. Even in batch processing scenarios, the HyGGe™ 100A stops and restarts seamlessly, without the need for lengthy restart procedures.
Built-in redundancy safeguards uptime, while European engineering and manufacturing guarantee short lead times and full compliance with EU directives. In essence, the HyGGe™ 100A does not lock customers into fixed solutions; it evolves with their project, their sector, and their long-term hydrogen ambitions.
HyGGe™ 100A successfully installed at a customer site in Konin, Poland. Image @Exion Hydrogen
On the theme of specifications, how does the precise engineering ensure superior purity of electrolytic hydrogen, a quality which is vital to meet the stringent requirements of diverse sectors?
Purity is safeguarded from the very core of our engineering. Gas quality is driven by the internal design of the stack, the selection of components — electrodes, membranes, structural elements — and the integration of the balance of stack. On top of this foundation, we add a robust two-stage purification module: oxygen removal followed by moisture drying. The result is hydrogen at 99.998% purity, delivered reliably and consistently by the HyGGe™ 100A. Stress management, optimised cooling, and balanced process flows ensure this standard is maintained over time.
In industries such as glass and metallurgy, even trace oxygen can compromise product quality; in semiconductor fabrication, purity directly determines yield; and in steel, ammonia, and other industrial processes, continuous consistency is non-negotiable. Every HyGGe™ 100A unit is subject of rigorous in-house testing and delivered fully EU-compliant — guaranteeing reliable, high-purity hydrogen straight from the source.
Exion Hydrogen’s electrolyzer applications also extend into renewable energy and mobility. How have you adapted to these markets?
Renewables and mobility demand more from electrolyzers than traditional industry. In renewables, systems must handle fluctuating wind and solar inputs; the HyGGe™ 100A is fully load-following, maintaining efficiency and reliability under variable conditions.
In mobility, purity and availability are critical. The HyGGe™ 100A exceeds SAE J2719 standards and produces over 200 kg/day, while its modular, containerised design allows fast deployment of refuelling infrastructure.
Producing hydrogen at 30 bar directly from the electrolyzer reduces compression costs by minimising the stages needed to reach 350 or 700 bar. Unlike BEVs, FCEVs benefit from hydrogen that can be produced when renewable energy is available, stored efficiently in large volumes, and dispensed on demand — decoupling energy generation from refuelling. This independence makes electrolysis a key enabler for clean mobility.
For industries and businesses considering the viability of on-site hydrogen production, there are several factors to consider. Could you talk us through those?
When considering on-site hydrogen production, the first step is ensuring application fit. Production capacity, pressure, and purity must align with the process at hand: a glass manufacturer requires a continuous stream of high-purity hydrogen, while a renewable project may prioritise the flexibility to follow fluctuating solar or wind inputs. Scalability is just as important — companies should avoid locking in oversized systems too early, while keeping the option to grow with future demand. The HyGGe™ 100A can support projects requiring hydrogen flows ranging from 20 Nm³/h to 500 Nm³/h, and as such provides precisely that balance, making it both cost-effective today and ready for tomorrow.
Equally important is the choice between on-site production and delivered hydrogen. On-site, you remain in control: supply is secured at the point of use, safety is contained within a controlled site environment, and logistics risks such as transporting hydrogen over public roads are avoided. Delivered hydrogen, by contrast, creates dependency on external suppliers, exposes projects to fluctuating costs, and may introduce safety concerns around road transport.
Purity is another decisive factor: delivered hydrogen often originates from SMR (steam methane reforming), which can carry unwanted impurities. Electrolytic hydrogen is inherently cleaner — and with Exion Hydrogen’s HyGGe™ platform, purity is safeguarded from stack design through to final gas conditioning.
Exion Hydrogen designs for a broad range of applications and industries – in terms of hydrogen production, for which industries will this become more important in the near future?
Hydrogen demand is rising across many sectors, but Exion Hydrogen’s initial focus is on specialised industries where purity, reliability, and consistency are mission-critical. From steel and glass to semiconductors, food, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, our HyGGe™ electrolyzers deliver high-purity hydrogen in pre-integrated, containerised units that minimise installation costs and reduce downstream compression needs.
Beyond these industries, adoption is accelerating in renewables and mobility. Electrolyzers must handle fluctuating wind and solar inputs while fuel cell vehicles require continuous, refuelling-grade supply. The HyGGe™ 100A is built to meet these demands with scalable capacity, EU compliance, and short lead times — making reliable on-site hydrogen production a competitive necessity across EMEA.
You are always on the lookout for long-term partnerships Can you tell us more about who you are looking to collaborate with and in what capacity?
We aim to strengthen partnerships with sector-specialized EPCs for industrial integrations, and with gas distributors seeking to complement their customer offering with on-site hydrogen production capabilities. Our message to future partners is clear: we have a unit that works and keeps on working. While we prioritize premium materials to ensure maximum system robustness, we remain CAPEX-competitive and focused on optimizing OPEX, fully understanding the importance of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for our customers.
Our philosophy is to build for longevity. We believe an overemphasis on efficiency is a trap that forces trade-offs. That’s why we consistently choose not to compromise reliability and durability for marginal efficiency gains.
Our strategy is guided by a stepstone approach: designing and building optimized, highly reliable, and durable water electrolyzer solutions. The HyGGe™ 100A platform represents our first technological stepstone, with more initiatives to be unveiled soon.
To view Exion Hydrogen’s manifesto, click here.
For more information on Exion Hydrogen, visit www.exionhydrogen.com.