Everllence, Quest One’s shareholder, has confirmed that Meister will retain responsibility for production, quality, and procurement as CEO, a role he has held on an interim basis since February 2025.
The PEM electrolyser OEM has also appointed Alexandre Ménage, former department Head at MAN Energy Solutions, to the management board as CTO, bringing expertise in engineering and product development.
The arrival of Ménage also comes at a time when the company is investing in new product optimisation, including its 10MW demonstration plant in Augsburg, Germany.
The former CTO, Marius Zasche, has taken on a new role at Everllence.
Commenting on the permanent appointment of Meister, Jürgen Klöpffer, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Quest One and Everllence Board Member, said he will play “a key role in advancing Quest One in the current demanding market environment.”
Klöpffer added, “Meister has led Quest One with strong leadership through a challenging phase in recent months and has set important strategic directions for the company’s future.”
In February, Quest One announced plans to cut 120 jobs at its Hamburg and Augsburg sites as part of a restructuring aimed at reducing costs, boosting competitiveness, and aligning capacity with current market conditions.
Meister, who oversaw the process, said the move was necessary given the “market environment remaining challenging for the foreseeable future.”
Hydrogen electrolyser consolidation: The wave reshaping the industry
There is a black hole of consolidation out there, beginning to suck all things related to hydrogen electrolyser value chains into it.
Horizontal and vertical integration within electrolyser production and deployment will accelerate towards the end of this decade. When several of the larger dominoes topple in rapid succession, it will rapidly escalate into a race to the finish line.
We may find that we are 80% through this consolidation play by 2030.
Good for innovation
Fresh finance for speculative innovation will likely become more scarce and increasingly expensive. The wave of buy-side venture capitalist (VC) investor interest from the past five years is likely to shift to private equity (PE) consolidation plays and other value-seeking deals.
The next wave of high-value electrolyser-related transactions will be focused on optimising the value of what has been achieved over the past 10 years and what is currently in the process of being commercialised.
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