elementarhy Revolutionizes the Production of Hydrogen

As an innovative green tech start-up, elementarhy has now been named “Best European Hydrogen Start-up 2025” at the H2 National Summit in Hamburg. The company is currently revolutionizing the hydrogen economy with an innovative membrane electrode assembly (MEA) that significantly reduces the use of expensive raw materials in water splitting and thus makes it possible to produce hydrogen cost-effectively in the future. The jury particularly appreciated the fact that the start-up enables the large-scale and affordable production of green hydrogen and thus makes a decisive contribution to decoupling from fossil hydrogen.

In the future, hydrogen will cover the energy requirements of industry and serve as a storage medium. However, its production has so far been expensive. Hydrogen production requires electrolysers that split hydrogen and oxygen. Electrolysers use iridium for this purpose. A silvery-white precious metal that is scarcer and, above all, more expensive than gold and platinum. elementarhy has now used plasma technology to develop a cost-effective, innovative unit for electrolysis that requires 95 % less of the expensive raw material than before. This means that central electrolyser components “Made in Germany” can be produced 25 % more cost-effectively - and thus also make hydrogen production significantly more economical overall. Elementarhy offers industry-leading customers MEA replacement as a service. This also represents a further step in the search for alternatives to PFAS substances, which are referred to as perpetual chemicals but are needed in industry.

“Green hydrogen needs innovation. We are now enabling the hydrogen economy and electrolysers worldwide to make green hydrogen sustainable, scalable and, above all, affordable with our membrane electrode units. Our plasma technology significantly reduces critical and costly precious metals such as iridium and paves the way for a secure supply of energy and raw materials,” says Arne Birth CFO of elementarhy.

elementarhy is a spin-off of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology in Greifswald. It develops innovative solutions for socially and economically important technologies. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWK) has been supporting elementarhy as an “outstanding research-based start-up” since 2023.