Company

Until hydrogen becomes
part of everyday life

For hydrogen to become part of everyday life, clean hydrogen must first be economically viable.

We lower clean hydrogen production costs to expand its use.
FROM ELECTRODE TO SYSTEM
PERFORMANCE ↑Higher performance
DURABILITY ↑Longer operating life
STACK COST ↓Lower manufacturing cost
CAPACITY ↑Greater production capacity
Mission

We lower clean hydrogen production costs to expand its use

One of the biggest barriers to clean hydrogen deployment is production cost. HydroXpand cannot set electricity prices, but we can improve stack performance, durability, manufacturing cost and production capacity.

If only one of the four improves, the cost of hydrogen barely moves.

The four metrics since our founding

Stack manufacturing cost has come down; performance, durability and production capacity have gone up.

01PERFORMANCE ↑

Performance

90.0% HHV

As stack performance improved, we progressively raised rated current density while maintaining the target efficiency range.

Stack HHV efficiency · test conditions2026.07
Stack
HXS-2 23-cell full stack
Operating point
50 A · 0.63 A/cm²
Cell voltage
1.645 V/cell
Electrolyte
0.1 M KOH · 50 °C
Pressure · cathode
Ambient · dry cathode
  • Electricity cost ↓
  • Electrode area ↓
  • Rated current density ↑

Beginning-of-test i-V measured in July 2026 · current density based on 79 cm² active area per cell · HHV efficiency = 1.48 V ÷ mean cell voltage

02DURABILITY ↑

Durability

3,000h+ HXS-2 cumulative

The HXS-2 stack has more than 3,000 hours of cumulative operation. We extend operating time while reducing the rate of cell-voltage rise, improving stable production time and stack replacement intervals.

Operating hourshours
  • Operating hours ↑
  • Degradation ↓
  • Replacement interval ↑

Representative HydroXpand stack tests at each stage. Operating conditions may vary by development stage.

03STACK COST ↓

Stack manufacturing cost

$815/kW estimated

We are lowering estimated stack manufacturing cost through coordinated improvements in materials, component design and assembly.

Estimated stack manufacturing costUSD/kW
EstimateTarget
  • Materials ↓
  • Components ↓
  • Process cost ↓

Estimated stack manufacturing cost converted at KRW 1,350 per USD. BoP and system costs are excluded.

04CAPACITY ↑

Annual production capacity

0.25MW/year · current

We expand production space, staffing and standard processes to increase annual HXS-2 production capacity.

Annual HXS-2 production capacityMW/year
  • Process standardization ↑
  • Production staffing ↑
  • Capacity ↑

Planned HXS-2 capacity based on 10 production staff, 250 working days per year and one shift

Because we design and manufacture the electrodes, catalysts, stacks and systems ourselves, we can work on all four metrics inside the same product and process.

Explore our AEM electrolysis technology
Who we are

We chose to turn research into products

All three founders completed master's and doctoral degrees in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST. Together, they published more than ten hydrogen papers in journals ranked in the top 1% by JCR. HydroXpand was founded in December 2023.

We started the company to carry laboratory performance into real products and customer sites. More than 70 customers in over 10 countries now use our electrodes and stacks, including large companies, universities, research institutes and distributors.

CEO Jonghyun Hyun speaking in front of the HydroXpand logo
Taking research results into products and customer sites.
When something falls short, we do not hide it. We clearly share how we plan to address it and when.
Jonghyun Hyun · Chief Executive Officer
History

How we got here

2023 → NOW

2026.06
Certification

CE declaration of conformity and trademark registration

Issued a manufacturer's EU declaration of conformity (DoC) for the 2 kW HXB-V1 system and applied the CE marking. Trademark classes 35 and 37 were registered the same month.

2026.05
Licence

Hydrogen equipment manufacturing permit

Cleared the Korea Gas Safety Corporation (KGS) technical review and received a hydrogen equipment manufacturing permit from Hwaseong City under Korea's Hydrogen Act. The later stages, completion inspection and product performance testing, follow in sequence.

2026.03
Product

Compact hydrogen production systems for labs and field sites

Launched the 2 kW AEM system HXB-V1. Selected the same month as a deep-tech startup in D.Camp Batch 6.

2025.12
Award

Grand Prize, K-Startup Challenge 2025 startup league

First place among 7,377 teams at Korea's largest startup competition, run jointly by ten government ministries. Together with the Chung Ju-yung prize two months earlier, this completed a sweep of Korea's two biggest startup competitions.

View more milestones 7
2025.10
Award

Grand Prize, Chung Ju-yung Startup Competition climate tech track

Top prize in the climate tech track at Korea's largest private-sector startup competition, run by the Asan Nanum Foundation.

2025.05
Funding

Pre-A funding round closed

Korea Investment Accelerator, Company K Partners and IBK Capital joined as new shareholders.

2025.H1
Product

HXS-2 2 kW stack goes on sale

Began supplying the 23-cell HXS-2 AEM stack to research institutes and companies.

2025.03
Selected

Selected for LG SuperStart Incubator Batch 3

Chosen as a clean tech startup.

2025.02
Production

Moved production to Dongtan

Relocated electrode, stack and system manufacturing and testing from Daejeon to Dongtan, Hwaseong.

2024.10
Partnership

MOU with Dong-A Hwa Sung, now SY Dong-A, to co-develop electrolysis systems

Combining our AEM stack technology with their system manufacturing capability.

2023.12
Founded

Company founded

Started at the KAIST Munji campus in Daejeon.

Team

The people building it

The engineers who design and build our stacks also service them, so customers receive technical support from the team that made the product.

Jonghyun Hyun, CEOCEO

Jonghyun Hyun

Chief Executive Officer · co-founder

Sangyong Shin, CTOCTO

Sangyong Shin

Chief Technology Officer · co-founder

Mingyu Kim, COOCOO

Mingyu Kim

Chief Operating Officer · co-founder

We are hiring →
Facility

Our Dongtan site

Electrodes, stacks and systems are made and tested under one roof.

Illuminated HydroXpand logo on a dark wall
Entrance of our Dongtan site
Two hands holding up a clear polymer membrane sample
Materials · checking a membrane sample made in-house
Lab bench with a single-cell test fixture connected to an electrolyte bottle and power equipment
Testing · measuring electrode performance in a single cell
Laptop on a test bench showing live HXB-V1 operating charts
System · live HXB-V1 operating data
Location

Our site and registered office

Electrode, stack and system manufacturing · testing · business development · customer technical support

Site (Dongtan, Hwaseong)

NSRC Building 3F, 59 Dongtan Industrial Complex 6-gil, Hwaseong-si 18487, Republic of Korea

View on map
Entrance of the HydroXpand site in Dongtan, Hwaseong
Registered office

Headquarters (KAIST, Daejeon)

Room T102, Jinri Hall, KAIST Munji Campus, 193 Munji-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34051, Republic of Korea

View on map
KAIST Munji Campus, Jinri Hall

Product, joint development and channel enquiries

Pick the purpose and you go to the matching enquiry form.

Product enquiryReview the right configuration and quotation scope.Joint developmentDefine material, stack and system conditions together.Channel partnershipDiscuss regional distribution and technical support.