CEO Tim Young provides candid update on Austin pilot findings, manufacturing strategy, and the company’s dual-track technology roadmap
CORALVILLE, IA, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SunHydrogen, Inc. (OTCQB: HYSR), the developer of a breakthrough technology that produces renewable hydrogen using only sunlight and water, today issued the following letter to its shareholders.
To Our Shareholders and Valued Supporters,
This letter is our answer to the questions you have been asking. You deserve a clear picture of where we are, what we are working through, and why we believe the work being done right now is the right work.
First, I want to say that I am genuinely proud of our team and grateful for the dedication of our partners. Based on published data, SunHydrogen has achieved higher solar to hydrogen efficiency than any other entity working on direct solar to hydrogen conversion, using materials and processes that can produce economical renewable hydrogen. That is not a small thing, and it is the foundation everything else is being built on.
SunHydrogen’s plan consists of three phases. First, validate multi-panel outdoor operation and identify real-world performance data. Second, convert those learnings into a controlled manufacturing workflow and demonstrate repeatability in a 100 square meter pilot, preferably at a customer site. Third, use a validated platform and process to secure early deployments and offtake agreements, then scale from there. Phase one is progressing and giving us the answers we need.
As you are aware, we chose the Hydrogen ProtoHub at UT Austin’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus as the site for our first multi-panel outdoor deployment. This was not a casual decision. The ProtoHub is co-managed by GTI Energy and UT Austin’s Center for Electromechanics, and it recently received the 2026 Robert Zalosh Hydrogen Safety Excellence Award from the Center for Hydrogen Safety. We wanted our technology validated in the most credible environment possible, with partners who bring decades of hydrogen safety and systems expertise. GTI Energy provides safety review and on-site systems integration support for our installation, and their involvement reflects the seriousness with which we are approaching this demonstration.
The January 2026 update confirmed that all four initial panels generated hydrogen under Austin sunlight, and that our system efficiency remains the highest achieved using commercially manufactured solar materials in an integrated outdoor system. It also confirmed that performance did not meet the targets previously achieved in Iowa and validated by Honda R&D, and that the variation was traced to a specific substrate manufacturing process.
More specifically, the findings showed a voltage decrease in the solar substrates that impacted performance, and a coating degradation that allowed water to penetrate the semiconductor layer. We have been working with our manufacturing partner CTF Solar in Germany to address the voltage issue, and we worked with our coating material supplier to address the protection of the semiconductor. We have validated our improvements at lab scale in Iowa and I am glad to report that we have now prepared commercial scale reactors which we will deploy back in Austin next month. We have high confidence in the corrective measures taken. We know this has taken longer than any of us wanted. Thank you for your patience while we worked through these adjustments.
A full performance dataset covering output, efficiency, durability, and consistency will be released once the corrected panels have completed sufficient run time to produce a meaningful and representative set of results. We will not release partial data that could be misread as the full picture.
The milestone that matters is stable, repeatable outdoor performance. We are focused on reaching it before moving to the next deployment.
Simultaneously, while learning from the Austin pilot, we are working with partners to produce all components at scale and optimizing those components to match our performance targets. Our vision is for everything to come together at a central assembly facility located close to a PV manufacturer, with key components sourced from multiple specialized suppliers. This approach is deliberate. It protects our intellectual property, optimizes logistics, and enables scalable production, such as the model Apple Inc. uses with the iPhone. No single supplier has the full picture, and that is by design.
The up-to-1,000-module production run with CTF Solar is designed to establish statistical confidence in yield, efficiency, and repeatability while locking down a controlled, scalable manufacturing workflow. One optimized panel is not enough. You need to know that the 500th panel performs like the first one. In parallel, we are actively bringing in catalyst and coating partners to industrialize the remaining critical layers, ensuring that performance and durability of the entire reactor are maintained under real operating conditions and at manufacturing scale.
The data generated will define a stable product configuration, support pilot deployments with consistent hardware, and move customer and offtake discussions forward from a position of demonstrated repeatability rather than projections. As manufacturing repeatability is demonstrated and field performance strengthens, we will expand into broader partner-led pilot deployments and formalize early commercial agreements. Securing an initial customer is a near-term commercial objective and early conversations are already underway.
A new timeline will be published once the Austin results are validated. We are closer than we have ever been and we want the data to speak for itself.
Our system is designed to address the core cost drivers in hydrogen production. No separate electrolyzer, no power electronics, and hydrogen produced directly at the point of use. Everything we do, from panel architecture to manufacturing strategy, is done with economics in mind. Our goal is to compete with fossil fuel based hydrogen on cost, and we stress test that assumption at every stage. To that end, we have worked throughout our development process with Strategic Analysis Inc., a firm that serves as a primary contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy for hydrogen techno-economic analysis, to ensure our design decisions are grounded in real world economic viability.
Honda R&D Co., Ltd. remains an active collaborator. The initial joint development agreement, signed in July 2024, has completed its first phase and renewal documents are currently working through the legal process. We continue to work together throughout this transition. Honda independently validated our 10.8% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency at their R&D facility in Japan, which remains the performance benchmark the Austin program is working toward. Their manufacturing discipline and engineering depth are a valuable complement to our team, and we expect to formalize the next phase of the relationship shortly.
Access to capital is what allows us to see this through. Our cash position remains strong, supported by conservative short-term investments that contribute to our overall liquidity. We also pursue non-dilutive funding where government grant programs align with our technical roadmap.
Dilution risk remains real, and we want shareholders to factor that into their view. Reaching full commercial scale will require future financing. That has not changed, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Our current cash position allows us to pursue both our PV-based panel program and our nanoparticle-based green hydrogen technology simultaneously. The data we are gathering in Austin is directly informing the development of our next generation panel. Our work with COTEC in Korea continues in parallel, and we believe this technology pathway shows promise of even greater performance and lower cost per kilogram of hydrogen. Our strong cash position gives us the runway to pursue both tracks simultaneously.
In addition, we are in collaboration discussions with Sparc Hydrogen in Australia, whose solar concentration technology shows potential to complement both our commercial PV-based pathway and our nanoparticle research, opening commercially viable options across both tracks.
We know that patience in a long development cycle is not easy, particularly when milestones move. We do not take that lightly. What we can commit to is transparency about where we are, honesty about what we do not yet know, and discipline about not setting expectations we cannot meet. The work being done right now, including addressing the commercial scale pilot findings, locking down the process with CTF Solar and other partners, and returning to Austin with corrected reactors, is exactly what needs to happen to build a company that delivers on its technology.
We are also building the team to match our ambitions. Our recent announcement in Japan and the addition of members in Europe reflect our commitment to establishing a global presence in the markets where hydrogen adoption is moving fastest.
We are building something the world has never seen before. Clean, economical hydrogen produced directly from sunlight and water, with no reliance on fossil fuels and no need for the infrastructure that ties the world to regions of conflict. At a time when energy security has never been more urgent, our work matters beyond the balance sheet. Thank you for having the patience to be part of something bigger than any of us.
Sincerely,
Tim Young
Chief Executive Officer, SunHydrogen, Inc.
About SunHydrogen, Inc.
SunHydrogen, Inc. (OTCQB: HYSR) is developing breakthrough technologies to produce renewable hydrogen in a market that Goldman Sachs estimates to be worth $1 trillion or more per year by 2050. Our patented SunHydrogen Panel technology uses sunlight and any source of water to produce low-cost renewable hydrogen. Like solar panels that produce electricity, our SunHydrogen Panels produce renewable hydrogen. Our vision is to become a major technology supplier in the new hydrogen economy. To learn more about SunHydrogen, please visit www.SunHydrogen.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Matters discussed in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and other factors, known and unknown, including the risk factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained herein are applicable only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable law.
Press Contact: Info@SunHydrogen.com
