A view inside of Verdagy’s new Silicon Valley factory in Newark, California. (Photo: Verdagy/PRNewswire)
The factory is reported to be the first Department of Energy-supported electrolyzer cell manufacturing facility to open in the United States.
MOSS LANDING, Calif.—Verdagy recently celebrated the grand opening of “the first Department of Energy (DOE)-supported electrolyzer manufacturing facility in the United States,” the company said in a release.
Verdagy manufactures advanced electrolysis systems for large-scale production of green hydrogen. Its new Silicon Valley factory, in Newark, reportedly offers more than 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space with the capacity to produce several gigawatts of electrolyzers.
“With deep experience in both utility-scale solar and automotive battery manufacturing, we knew the importance of designing and solving for scale from the very beginning,” said Peter Cousins, chief operating officer for Verdagy, in the release. “This motivated us to look end-to-end as we approached green hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing. Verdagy partnered with ATI to optimize everything, with innovations from molten metal through coils to completed electrolyzer cells. Our new multi-gigawatt factory in California is intentionally simple, precisely what is needed to solve for the scale and fossil parity costs required to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries.”
Verdagy stated in the release that its manufacturing strategy is to reduce electrolyzer stack costs by implementing advanced manufacturing automation, a product designed for low cost and high reliability, and integration of a domestic nickel alloy to a high-volume, automated manufacturing line.
According to Verdagy, its manufacturing strategy allows the company to add gigawatts of capacity at costs that are reportedly five times lower than those of competitors. This is said to enable “massive, financially prudent scaling of capacity.” The company also stated that it “has the advantage of being nimble and flexible to quickly adjust roadmaps, without conflicts from competing incumbent businesses.”
Verdagy has partnered with ATI, Inc., a key supplier of U.S. metal alloys for its electrolyzers. Verdagy’s manufacturing process will start with ATI’s metal coils and output finished electrolyzer cells by vertically integrating subassemblies with minimal manual handling and processing. ATI and Verdagy coined this electrolyzer manufacturing process as “Coils-to-Cells.”
“ATI’s partnership with Verdagy is an ideal opportunity for our high-performing, high-quality materials in the specialty energy market,” said Tom DeLuca, president of ATI Specialty Rolled Products, in the release.
The “Coils-to-Cells” manufacturing system aligns with the DOE goal that domestic electrolyzer manufacturing should be supported by a domestic supply of metals, fostering a domino effect on domestic production. In addition to its production capabilities, the facility will create new clean tech jobs in the local community, the release stated.
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. High-volume production is set to begin in the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant step forward in the advancement of green hydrogen manufacturing in the United States, the company said.