MBSE for Hydrogen Industry: from Hype to Execution 

Yet despite the potential, progress has been mixed and generally the announcements have not  lived up to expectation. While major hydrogen projects continue to be announced with fanfare, a troubling trend is emerging: observation is that . This pattern is creating doubt among stakeholders, investors, and the public. It raises critical questions about execution, confidence, and the capability gaps in scaling hydrogen from concept to industry. The troubling trend is causing loss of confidence of investors and stakeholders on potential of hydrogen industry.

The reality is that hydrogen production is not new. Electrolysis and reforming processes have been well understood for decades by humanity. What’s new is the scale, application, and urgency with which these technologies must now be deployed to meet climate and energy goals. Australia is not alone in this race. Countries across Asia, Europe, and the United States are making aggressive, well-coordinated moves to lead in hydrogen production, technology export, and market integration.

If Australia wants to compete in this global hydrogen race, it cannot afford to treat hydrogen as a speculative future bet—it must be treated as a critical industrial strategy. The current pipeline of projects, especially pilots across the state and regions present strong evidence of the commitment of stakeholders to date. However, little has changed in the approach within the eco-system to take bolder and firm strategic steps towards implementing projects.

Many hydrogen projects fail not due to challenges in execution plan, regulatory and stakeholder’s misalignment. The lack of integrated digital engineering impacting robust financial modeling and higher risk profile of project is major issue with large capital intensive projects.  In many cases, projects are announced without a clear digital engineering strategy, supply chain integration and readiness, or performance validation framework. Hence, there is lack of operating data model to support the financial modelling to assist in decision making processes.

There’s also a missing layer of engineering rigor. Hydrogen systems involve high pressure, volatile chemistry, safety-critical controls, and strict compliance standards. From electrolyser stacks and storage tanks to refuelling stations and mobility systems—these are not straightforward assets. They demand deep integration of multiple engineering disciplines, compliance layers, and operational scenarios. Without such a holistic approach, it often relies on assumptions, which are siloed and may not be appropriate to assess the robustness of the performance of the project. 

In other words, the lack of integrated data model covering end to end life cycle limits the ability to perform scenario analysis and the traditional piloting approach alone is in-sufficient to support the decision-making process for such large capital-intensive projects. We must leverage the advanced manufacturing capabilities around design to manufacture (DFMA) for reduction and optimized cost over life of projects.

In addition, skilled workforce development is critical to support this long-term capital-intensive program. The upskilling is a short-term solution and for long term solutioning we need strategic initiatives to generate a talent pipeline of an industry relevant skilled work force.

Australia is making bold strides toward becoming a global hydrogen leader, backed by major investments from ARENA’s Hydrogen Headstart program and strong bilateral interest from energy-hungry nations like Japan and South Korea. But as the sector moves from pilot projects to industrial deployment, it faces complex engineering, compliance, and scale-up challenges. This is where Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) can play a transformative role.  MBSE allows risk mitigation of dynamic requirements across the life cycle of projects and has been deployed across defence for mission engineering purposes. The parallel learning from latter industry sector with similar safety critical parameters is good reference to apply MBSE to h2 industry.

Hydrogen systems are inherently multidisciplinary. A single hydrogen refuelling station may involve:

• High-pressure storage
• Thermal management
• Chemical sensors
• Electronic control systems, and
• Communication interfaces.

MBSE helps orchestrate these disciplines through a shared digital architecture. It enables system architects to visualize functional behaviour, define interfaces, and simulate performance long before physical prototypes are built.

For Australian SMEs and OEMs entering the hydrogen supply chain—whether in storage, transport, or fuel cells—MBSE helps manage this complexity while enabling IP development and model reuse across projects. It also helps to capture holistic virtual twin models for possible scenario analysis.

In essence, a virtual simulator can be a low-cost workbench compared to investment heavy pilot plants to develop future project plans and train the work force.  The focus of such a simulator can underpin innovation within PEM electrolyser to reduce the cost, model the balance of plant for performance improvement and develop robust hydrogen storage & logistics capability using advance manufacturing.   The virtual twin experience with a model-based system engineering capability allows to provide holistic training to future work force.

Safety is non-negotiable in hydrogen applications. With international standards such as ISO 19880 and local regulations evolving rapidly, engineering teams must ensure traceability from requirements through to validation. MBSE platforms enable this by linking regulatory requirements directly to system functions, components, and test cases.

For example, a Type IV hydrogen storage tank manufacturer in Australia can use MBSE to model pressure systems, define safety margins, and document verification methods—all within one connected environment. This not only reduces certification risk but also builds confidence for international export.

Hydrogen R&D is capital-intensive. Building physical prototypes, running tests, and iterating designs is time-consuming and costly. MBSE reduces this burden through virtual prototyping and early simulation, allowing teams to identify design flaws, evaluate trade-offs, and make informed decisions before committing to hardware. The modern manufacturing centred around industry 4.0 and automation must be leveraged for design to manufacture capability.

This is especially valuable for organizations transitioning from pilot projects to commercial-scale deployment, where late-stage changes can derail timelines and budgets.   The single data platform can provide end to end insights and leverage AI for future proofing the expected goals/KPI’s.

MBSE also lays the foundation for the digital thread—a seamless flow of information connecting design, compliance, manufacturing, and operations. This ensures that design intent is preserved across the lifecycle and provides stakeholders with real-time visibility into system status, performance, and risks.

In Australia’s hydrogen sector, where multiple stakeholders—government, research institutes, SMEs, and global partners—must collaborate, a digital thread is vital for alignment and transparency. It also enabled to identify the supply chain risks and future proof project goals by providing vital insights over project life cycle.

MBSE is more than just a tool—it’s a strategic capability that can accelerate Australia’s hydrogen transition, ensure compliance, reduce risk, and enable scalable productization. As the industry matures, adopting model-based approaches will help Australia not only lead in innovation but also in execution.

Now is the time for Australian hydrogen companies to invest in MBSE, upskill their teams, and build the digital foundations needed for a world-class hydrogen industry.  MEMKO is continuously pushing boundaries to leverage MBSE capability to meet such regulated industries across A&D, Energy and renewables.

MEMKO is a leading provider of MBSE capability leveraging industry gold standard toolkit- CATIA MAGIC. We are a solution provider engaging from early adoption of MBSE methodology through enablement, support and hands-on solutioning of the problem statement.