IGHA–Hyvolution India 2026 | 17–18 November 2026 | India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi NCR
Editorial intent: Technology localisation | Best suited to exhibitors, project developers, EPC teams and technical delegates
India does not lack green-hydrogen announcements. What it still needs, in much larger measure, is equipment that can be made here, serviced here and trusted on projects that have to run for years. That is what makes the Hystar–BHEL agreement worth watching.
Hystar and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited have signed a strategic collaboration agreement for the phased local manufacturing of PEM electrolysers based on Hystar’s technology. The pairing is fairly easy to understand. Hystar brings its PEM platform; BHEL brings manufacturing depth, engineering capability and a long history of working on large energy projects in India. The stated direction is localisation rather than simply importing packaged systems.
That distinction will matter more as the market matures. A developer choosing an electrolyser is not buying a standalone machine. The decision sits inside a much larger project: renewable power, water treatment, rectification, balance-of-plant equipment, compression, storage, controls, safety systems and, eventually, a customer willing to buy the hydrogen or its derivative. A few percentage points of efficiency matter. So do uptime, stack replacement, local spares, response time and the ability to stand behind a performance guarantee.
PEM technology has attracted interest because it can respond quickly to changing electricity input and can work well with variable renewable generation. It also offers a relatively compact footprint. None of that makes PEM the automatic answer for every Indian project. Alkaline systems remain an important route, particularly where scale and operating profile favour them. BHEL itself already has a strategic tie-up with thyssenkrupp nucera India for alkaline electrolysers. In other words, the market is not settling on one technology; it is beginning to ask which technology fits which project.
That is a healthier conversation than the one India was having a few years ago. Under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, electrolyser manufacturing support has already been awarded at substantial scale. The next test is not the number of megawatts announced. It is whether factories receive real orders, whether equipment performs in Indian conditions and whether localisation reaches beyond final assembly into components and engineering know-how.
There is a sizeable supply chain hidden inside that question. Membranes, catalysts, bipolar plates, power electronics, pumps, valves, sensors, water systems, thermal management and control equipment all sit around the stack. So do testing, certification, EPC and long-term service. A local PEM manufacturing programme can therefore create business for companies that would never describe themselves as hydrogen producers.
For suppliers, this is where the Hystar–BHEL story becomes commercially interesting. Project developers are becoming more demanding. They will want to know what is genuinely manufactured in India, what remains imported, how quickly a failed component can be replaced, what degradation assumptions sit behind the warranty and who takes responsibility when the electrolyser is integrated with the rest of the plant. Those are difficult questions. They are also the questions that separate a promising technology from bankable equipment.
They are exactly the sort of conversations IGHA–Hyvolution India 2026 should make room for. On an exhibition floor, an electrolyser supplier has a chance to do more than display a stack. It can sit across from EPC companies, industrial users, developers and component manufacturers and explain how the system behaves inside an actual project. Buyers, meanwhile, can compare technologies without relying only on specification sheets and online presentations.
The conference side matters for the same reason. India is trying to build manufacturing capacity while project timelines, offtake and hydrogen economics are still moving. That creates a genuine industry question: how quickly should manufacturers invest ahead of demand, and how much localisation can be achieved without compromising performance or pushing up cost? There is no neat answer yet.
The Hystar–BHEL agreement should therefore be treated as an opening, not an outcome. It puts another serious technology route into India’s domestic manufacturing conversation. What follows — supplier development, project orders, operating data and service capability — will tell us much more.
By the time the hydrogen industry meets in Greater Noida on 17–18 November, the useful discussion will not be whether India wants local electrolyser manufacturing. That point is settled. The better question is what “local” must deliver for a developer to choose it. For exhibitors and technical delegates, that is a conversation worth having face to face.
Questions readers may have
What exactly have Hystar and BHEL announced?
A strategic collaboration to enable phased local manufacturing in India of PEM electrolyser systems based on Hystar’s technology.
Why is PEM relevant to renewable hydrogen projects?
PEM systems can respond quickly to variable power input, which can be useful when hydrogen production is closely linked to solar and wind generation.
Does this mean PEM will replace alkaline electrolysers in India?
No. Technology choice depends on project scale, operating profile, cost, efficiency and other requirements. BHEL also has an alkaline-electrolyser technology tie-up.
What does localisation need to achieve beyond assembly?
Competitive localisation ultimately depends on components, engineering, testing, service, spares, warranties and reliable project performance — not simply where final assembly takes place.
Who should pay attention to this at IGHA–Hyvolution India?
Electrolyser and component suppliers, EPC firms, developers, industrial users, technical buyers and investors assessing equipment risk.
What is the next milestone to watch?
Commercial orders and operating performance. Those will show whether the partnership converts technology collaboration into competitive equipment for Indian projects.
Source
• Hydrogen Central – Hystar and BHEL partner on local PEM electrolyser manufacturing