An Australian company is set to begin mass producing the world’s most efficient hydrogen electrolyser, claiming it will be the building blocks for the decarbonisation of heavy industry.

The work is expected to create 44 jobs with the company aiming to grow its team to more than 200 employees in the next couple of years. The steelworks at Port Kembla is the largest steel production facility in Australia.

BlueScope will soon vote whether to endorse a $1 billion reline of a mothballed blast furnace, a move which would lock the steelmaker into using coal to make steel for another two decades.

Australia’s former chief scientist Alan Finkel, who is an advisor to Hysata, said efficient electrolysers and abundant green energy was essential to the viability of zero-emission steelmaking.

“You need very cheap electricity, and you need very cheap hydrogen, and together the electricity in hydrogen replaces the metallurgical coal that is used in the blast furnace,” Dr Finkel said.