Australia

Electrocatalysts are capable of transforming water into hydrogen oxygen and therefore into energy in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. However the limitations in the research of high performance catalysts act as an obstructer in the development of using water as green energy. Here we report on a delicate method to prepare novel bimetallic metal organic framework derived electrocatalysts (C–NiCu–BDC–GO–CC) using graphene oxide (GO) modified carbon cloth as a 3D flexible and conductive substrate. The resultant electrocatalyst C–NiCu–BDC– GO–CC exhibited very low electron transfer resistance which benefited from its extremely thin 3D sponge-like morphology. Furthermore it showed excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity achieving 10 mA/cm2 at a low overpotential of 390 mV in 1 M KOH electrolyte with a remarkable durability of 10 h.

The telecommunication sector plays a significant role in shaping the global economy and the way people share information and knowledge. At present the telecommunication sector is liable for its energy consumption and the amount of emissions it emits in the environment. In the context of off-grid telecommunication applications off-grid base stations (BSs) are commonly used due to their ability to provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area. However in the past the off-grid BSs usually relied on emission-intensive power supply solutions such as diesel generators. In this review paper various types of solutions (including in particular the sustainable solutions) for powering BSs are discussed. The key aspects in designing an ideal power supply solution are reviewed and these mainly include the pre-feasibility study and the thermal management of BSs which comprise heating and cooling of the BS shelter/cabinets and BS electronic equipment and power supply components. The sizing and optimization approaches used to design the BSs’ power supply systems as well as the operational and control strategies adopted to manage the power supply systems are also reviewed in this paper.

Conventional technologies are largely powered by fossil fuel exploitation and have ultimately led to extensive environmental concerns. Hydrogen is an excellent carbon-free energy carrier but its storage and long-distance transportation remain big challenges. Ammonia however is a promising indirect hydrogen storage medium that has well-established storage and transportation links to make it an accessible fuel source. Moreover the notion of ‘green ammonia’ synthesised from renewable energy sources is an emerging topic that may open significant markets and provide a pathway to decarbonise a variety of applications reliant on fossil fuels. Herein a comparative study based on the chosen design working principles advantages and disadvantages of direct ammonia fuel cells is summarised. This work aims to review the most recent advances in ammonia fuel cells and demonstrates how close this technology type is to integration with future applications. At present several challenges such as material selection NO_x formation CO₂ tolerance limited power densities and long term stability must still be overcome and are also addressed within the contents of this review.

Hydrogen has a very diverse chemistry and reacts with most other elements to form compounds which have fascinating structures compositions and properties. Complex metal hydrides are a rapidly expanding class of materials approaching multi-functionality in particular within the energy storage field. This review illustrates that complex metal hydrides may store hydrogen in the solid state act as novel battery materials both as electrolytes and electrode materials or store solar heat in a more efficient manner as compared to traditional heat storage materials. Furthermore it is highlighted how complex metal hydrides may act in an integrated setup with a fuel cell. This review focuses on the unique properties of light element complex metal hydrides mainly based on boron nitrogen and aluminum e.g. metal borohydrides and metal alanates. Our hope is that this review can provide new inspiration to solve the great challenge of our time: efficient conversion and large-scale storage of renewable energy.

Hydrogen produced from renewable electricity will play an important role in deep decarbonisation of industry. However adding large electrolyser capacities to a low-carbon electricity system also increases the need for additional electricity generation from variable renewable energies. This will require hydrogen production to be variable unless other sources provide sufficient flexibility. Existing sources of flexibility in hydro-thermal systems are hydropower and thermal generation which are both associated with sustainability concerns. In this work we use a dispatch model for the case of Sweden to assess the power system operation with large-scale electrolysers assuming that additional wind power generation matches the electricity demand of hydrogen production on average. We evaluate different scenarios for restricting the flexibility of hydropower and thermal generation and include 29 different weather years to test the impact of variable weather regimes. We show that (a) in all scenarios electrolyser utilisation is above 60% on average (b) the inter-annual variability of hydrogen production is substantial if thermal power is not dispatched for electrolysis and (c) this problem is aggravated if hydropower flexibility is also restricted. Therefore either long-term storage of hydrogen or backup hydrogen sources may be necessary to guarantee continuous hydrogen flows. Large-scale dispatch of electrolysis capacity supported by wind power makes the system more stable if electrolysers ramp down in rare hours of extreme events with low renewable generation. The need for additional backup capacities in a fully renewable electricity system will thus be reduced if wind power and electrolyser operation are combined in the system.

Hydrogen is often touted as the fuel of the future but hydrogen is already an important feedstock for the chemical industry. This review highlights current means for hydrogen production and use and the importance of progressing R&D along key technologies and policies to drive a cost reduction in renewable hydrogen production and enable the transition of chemical manufacturing toward green hydrogen as a feedstock and fuel. The chemical industry is at the core of what is considered a modern economy. It provides commodities and important materials e.g. fertilizers synthetic textiles and drug precursors supporting economies and more broadly our needs. The chemical sector is to become the major driver for oil production by 2030 as it entirely relies on sufficient oil supply. In this respect renewable hydrogen has an important role to play beyond its use in the transport sector. Hydrogen not only has three times the energy density of natural gas and using hydrogen as a fuel could help decarbonize the entire chemical manufacturing but also the use of green hydrogen as an essential reactant at the basis of many chemical products could facilitate the convergence toward virtuous circles. Enabling the production of green hydrogen at cost could not only enable new opportunities but also strengthen economies through a localized production and use of hydrogen. Herein existing technologies for the production of renewable hydrogen including biomass and water electrolysis and methods for the effective storage of hydrogen are reviewed with an emphasis on the need for mitigation strategies to enable such a transition.

Australia’s Technology Investment Roadmap is a strategy to accelerate development and commercialisation of low emissions technologies.

Annual low emissions statements are key milestones of the roadmap process. These statements prioritise low emissions technologies with potential to deliver the strongest economic and emissions reduction outcomes for Australia. They focus government investment on new and emerging technologies.

In this Statement

The first Low Emissions Technology Statement presents a vision of a prosperous Australia recognised as a global low emissions technology leader

• priority technologies and economic stretch goals
• Australia’s big technology challenges and opportunities
• Technology Investment Framework
• monitoring transparency and impact evaluation

This work reports on H2 fuel generation from sewage water using Cu/CuO nanoporous (NP) electrodes. This is a novel concept for converting contaminated water into H2 fuel. The preparation of Cu/CuO NP was achieved using a simple thermal combustion process of Cu metallic foil at 550 ◦C for 1 h. The Cu/CuO surface consists of island-like structures with an inter-distance of 100 nm. Each island has a highly porous surface with a pore diameter of about 250 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of monoclinic Cu/CuO NP material with a crystallite size of 89 nm. The prepared Cu/CuO photoelectrode was applied for H2 generation from sewage water achieving an incident to photon conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 14.6%. Further the effects of light intensity and wavelength on the photoelectrode performance were assessed. The current density (Jph) value increased from 2.17 to 4.7 mA·cm−2 upon raising the light power density from 50 to 100 mW·cm−2 . Moreover the enthalpy (∆H*) and entropy (∆S*) values of Cu/CuO electrode were determined as 9.519 KJ mol−1 and 180.4 JK−1 ·mol−1 respectively. The results obtained in the present study are very promising for solving the problem of energy in far regions by converting sewage water to H2 fuel.

The report analyses the technical impacts to end-users of natural gas in Australian distribution networks when up to 10% hydrogen (by volume) is mixed with natural gas.



The full report can be found at this link.

Australia’s gas infrastructure is currently subject to regulations that were designed for a natural-gas only network system. Future Fuels CRC has released a full report and database of regulations to share exactly how Australia’s current gas regulations can be modernised to enable hydrogen biomethane and other potential future fuels.

This research thoroughly assessed Australia’s current regulatory framework to identify the regulations that will require modernisation to facilitate the use of future fuels within Australia’s energy networks and align them with the goals of Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy. This study builds on the initial work completed as part of Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy and creates a comprehensive regulatory map of relevant legislation across the natural gas production and supply chain which may be impacted by the addition of future fuels such as hydrogen and biomethane.

The research was delivered by RMIT University of Sydney and GPA Engineering supported by our industry and government participants APA APGA ATCO AusNet Services ENA Energy Safe Victoria Jemena and the South Australian Government.

The study’s report summarises the key issues and the direction of possible solutions. The study also created a database that holds details of legislation by state and territory as well as Commonwealth legislation and applicable Australian standards. The database is designed to be readily updated as these regulations continue to evolve.  

The Australian energy industry and regulators benefit from this study by ensuring that any regulatory changes required for future fuels are identified early so that appropriate regulatory changes can be initiated and delivered. These changes will enable the many highly-regulated pilot projects happening across Australia to expand and develop under a modernised and effective regulatory environment.

You can find the full report on the Future Fuels CRC website here