As part of CCN’s Science Series, we present our first focus: Berkely Vale’s Star Scientific and its remarkable founder, Andrew Horvath.
A Central Coast innovator is making waves in the global clean energy sector.
Andrew Horvath, Global Group Chairman of Star Scientific Limited, is spearheading the development of the company’s breakthrough technology known as HERO, or Hydrogen Energy Release Optimiser.
Founded in 1997 and headquartered at Berkeley Vale, Star Scientific has grown from a research lab established by his father, nuclear physicist Stephen Horvath, into a global enterprise with projects on multiple continents.
HERO® generates industrial-scale heat from hydrogen and oxygen without combustion, producing only pure water as a by-product.
The technology has been recognised internationally, winning the S&P Global Platts Global Energy Award in 2020 and the World Hydrogen Award in 2021.
It also secured Horvath a place on the World Hydrogen Advisory Board and saw the company named a finalist in the SXSW Innovation Awards.
While the company is engaged in projects across Asia, the Pacific and the Americas, it has kept its roots firmly on the Central Coast.
In 2023, Star Scientific joined forces with Mars Food Australia at Berkeley Vale to pilot HERO in food production, demonstrating how hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in the local industry.
More recently, the company partnered with Central Coast packaging firm TrendPac as part of the newly formed Central Coast Food Hydrogen Cluster, coordinated through Central Coast Industry Connect.
The cluster brings together local manufacturers, researchers and businesses to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen in food and beverage production.
Horvath said the initiatives highlight the role of the Coast as a proving ground for clean energy.
“These projects show how our local industries can lead the world in decarbonisation,” he said.
“It’s about building solutions here that are exportable globally.”
As governments and businesses search for practical ways to reduce emissions, Star Scientific’s HERO technology is drawing international attention.
Yet the company continues to emphasise its Australian base, with the Central Coast at the centre of its research and pilot operations.
For locals, the involvement of household names such as Mars Food and TrendPac demonstrates that hydrogen innovation is not just a global story but one firmly anchored in the region’s industrial future.
CCN invites readers to help shape this new Science Series by nominating other local scientists, innovators and organisations whose work deserves to be recognised.
Nominations can be submitted via our website or by contacting the newsroom directly.
See details online.
Yeah nah, green hydrogen isn’t going to happen no matter how much money you’ve poured into it, or Chris Bowen. Twiggy has pulled away from it – investors know where the moola is and it ain’t this.