A 2.3m² step towards scalable solar hydrogen production
In the depths of Deeptech Pitches during a freezing afternoon at Northern Power 2026, Oulu, Finland, the audience felt a bizarre breeze as the R&D team of ZUN-H took the stage in the unexpected absence of our CEO Veera Tapionkaski. Winds of change quickly turned to warm rays of hope for the future as our young and energetic group of scientists and engineers got the change to present our company with a bubbling announcement – a commercial-sized, 2.3m² solar hydrogen panel. The ZUN-H solar hydrogen panel utilizes only water and sunlight. With our photocatalytic membrane, clean fuels are produced straight out the panel. While we are still at the beginning of our developmental path, this panel proves that our technology is ready to be taken out of the research lab and scaled towards commercial use.
We are delighted that we have been able to unveil our work of the last months in the city where it all started – Oulu. “It is already amazing to see a new technology being born, but to see it grow from the laboratory setup towards commercial product, it is something else. And I am very happy with the fact that this technology was invented at the Nano and Molecular Systems Research Unit’s laboratory at the University of Oulu, as their talented researchers are working towards the same goal by continuing the development through fundamental research. Oulu is a good place for emerging hydrogen technologies due to its lively and strong hydrogen ecosystem.”, states founder and CEO Veera Tapionkaski.
So, what’s next? As the panel is only one component to a whole hydrogen production plant, the system pilots are a natural next step. To make sure our developmental works can continue with quality rather than stressing over Finland’s weather-windows, we have decided to conduct the upcoming pilots at the Canary Islands. These trial runs will give us experience on how such systems behave under real-life conditions and what that means for developing our products further.
We would like to thank everyone who took part in Nordic Hydrogen Week 2026. It was an exciting week for all of us, starting off strong with many interesting talks given during the Research Day, hosted at the University of Oulu. The next day, an organized field tour gave participants insights of the growing hydrogen ecosystem around the city of Oulu. Finally, at Northern Power 2026, we got the chance to explore our plans and vision with likeminded people at our exhibition stand, ending the week with a large step towards scalable solar hydrogen production.
We are scaling up towards Sun Age.
© Anna Karppinen, BusinessOulu
© Anna Karppinen, BusinessOulu