CTF Solar, a Chinese-invested company, recently signed an agreement to manufacture the direct solar-to-hydrogen technology of U.S. developer SunHydrogen. According to the Technology and Manufacturing Services Agreement, the two parties plan to produce 1,000 systems that use sunlight and water to generate hydrogen directly.

This collaboration is based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2025 and a previous cooperation agreement. It aims to leverage SunHydrogen's pilot data and process experience from the Hydrogen Prototype Center at the University of Texas to address defects in the manufacturing process. Although the pilot system's performance did not meet initial targets, the agreement will help optimize the technology.

CTF Solar is the German subsidiary of China National Building Material Group (CNBM) and focuses on photovoltaic technology. The core of its solar hydrogen panels is the Photo-Anode Heterostructure (PAH), with panels manufactured by combining billions of these structures.

The PAH cells use sunlight to drive the photoelectrochemical water splitting process. A proprietary catalyst facilitates the reaction, increasing hydrogen and oxygen production while reducing energy loss and enhancing system durability.

Tim Young, CEO of SunHydrogen, stated, "This agreement is a significant step towards industrializing the technology." He added that the company's next step is to find initial off-takers to drive the commercial application of direct solar-to-hydrogen technology.

Increasing R&D investment is focusing on the direct solar-to-hydrogen pathway. Proponents argue that it can provide green hydrogen using only sunlight and water, helping to reduce operational costs and improve efficiency. Currently, many companies are in the early stages of developing technology in this field. While the technological outlook is promising, most have not yet been validated at scale.