Utility Global, a U.S.-based global economic industrial decarbonization company, has announced a strategic partnership with Kyocera International Inc. (Kyocera) to scale the manufacturing of its proprietary electrochemical cells to support rapid commercial deployments of Utility’s H2Gen® systems, enabling economic industrial decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries such as steel, refining, petrochemicals and chemicals.
Under the partnership, Utility’s proprietary ceramic-metal electrochemical cell technology will be combined with Kyocera’s world-class advanced materials capabilities and diversified global manufacturing footprint. Together, the companies will expand cell manufacturing capacity, enable efficiencies, and accelerate time-to-market for H2Gen systems.
“Kyocera is one of the most respected advanced materials manufacturers in the world, and this collaboration marks a pivotal milestone in bringing our proprietary electrochemical cell technology to market faster and at global scale,” said Parker Meeks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Utility Global. “By pairing our breakthrough materials technology and ceramic-metal manufacturing and coating know-how with Kyocera’s proven manufacturing excellence and global presence, particularly in the regions of high interest to Utility, we can jointly meet our accelerating demand for H2Gen systems.”
The partnership includes the establishment of high-volume production lines, shared collaboration in advanced materials engineering and automation, and joint quality and durability testing to meet the high standards of Utility’s global heavy industry customers, who are committed to reducing emissions of their products and operations so long as it does not negatively affect their core economics, which H2Gen achieves. Utility and Kyocera plan to initially establish a dedicated manufacturing hub at Kyocera’s Fine Ceramics manufacturing facility in Hendersonville, North Carolina, with initial production capacity operational in 2026. Further additional manufacturing capabilities are expected to expand globally in sync with the demand for Utility’s industrial-scale projects.
“The collaboration between our two companies will make this partnership a rapid success and provide high performance, high quality electrochemical cells for Utility,” stated Jeff Osmun, Vice President of Kyocera International, Inc., Fine Ceramics Group. “As a global leader and producer of advanced engineered ceramic materials and components, we are seeking to leverage our existing and future capabilities to help enable carbon neutralization. This is in line with Kyocera’s philosophy, which aims to solve social issues through its business activities and realize a sustainable society. Partnering with Utility is another major step in that direction.”
This agreement builds on Utility’s recent commercial momentum and further positions the company as one of the most advanced, disruptive and economic industrial decarbonization companies providing two core products for its customers: namely, clean hydrogen that can be utilized as low-to-negative carbon energy, fuel or feedstock, alongside high purity carbon dioxide (including over 95% pure CO₂ in refining and petrochemical applications) completely reshaping the cost and footprint of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
Utility’s patented H2Gen technology produces clean hydrogen from water by harnessing electrochemical energy from existing industrial processes’ off-gases without electricity —eliminating the need for electricity and new grid infrastructure, hence dramatically lowering hydrogen production costs in addition to producing a separate high purity CO2 stream. This unique economic decarbonization value proposition has driven significant commercial traction for Utility in heavy industry globally with steel as a lead sector, including a recently announced project with ArcelorMittal in Brazil, where blast furnace off-gas will be utilized to decarbonize integrated steelmaking. Blast furnace-based steel production accounts for over 70% of steel produced globally today and over 85% of steel industry emissions, presenting a significant market opportunity for economic decarbonization.
Utility’s commercialization strategy in teaming up with established global manufacturers like Kyocera further strengthens supply chain resilience, enhances product reliability, and supports rapid project deployments across multiple continents and markets.
Scalable H2Gen manufacturing and project execution aligns well with major global trends in decarbonizing heavy industries, requiring economic competitiveness in both small-scale projects as well as modular and scalable deployments at industrial scale, with Utility’s modular H2Gen technology ready to deliver with active customer projects in development at both ends of that project spectrum.