Australia

As nations around the world seek to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in order to mitigate climate change risks there has been a resurgence of interest in the use of hydrogen as a zero-emissions energy carrier. Hydrogen can be produced from diverse feedstocks via a range of low-emissions pathways and has broad potential in the process of decarbonization across the energy transport and industrial sectors.<br/>With an abundance of both renewable and fossil fuel energy resources a comparatively low national energy demand and excellent existing regional resource trading links Australia is well positioned to pursue industrial-scale hydrogen production for both domestic and export purposes. In this paper we present an overview of the progress at the government industry and research levels currently undertaken to enable a large-scale hydrogen industry for Australia.

The current hydrogen generation technologies especially biomass gasification using fluidized bed reactors (FBRs) were rigorously reviewed. There are involute operational parameters in a fluidized bed gasifier that determine the anticipated outcomes for hydrogen production purposes. However limited reviews are present that link these parametric conditions with the corresponding performances based on experimental data collection. Using the constructed artificial neural networks (ANNs) as the supervised machine learning algorithm for data training the operational parameters from 52 literature reports were utilized to perform both the qualitative and quantitative assessments of the performance such as the hydrogen yield (HY) hydrogen content (HC) and carbon conversion efficiency (CCE). Seven types of operational parameters including the steam-to-biomass ratio (SBR) equivalent ratio (ER) temperature particle size of the feedstock residence time lower heating value (LHV) and carbon content (CC) were closely investigated. Six binary parameters have been identified to be statistically significant to the performance parameters (hydrogen yield (HY)) hydrogen content (HC) and carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimal operational conditions derived from the machine leaning were recommended according to the needs of the outcomes. This review may provide helpful insights for researchers to comprehensively consider the operational conditions in order to achieve high hydrogen production using fluidized bed reactors during biomass gasification.

The National Hydrogen Roadmap provides a blueprint for the development of a hydrogen industry in Australia.

Recently there has been a considerable amount of work undertaken (both globally and domestically) seeking to quantify the economic opportunities associated with hydrogen. The National Hydrogen Roadmap takes that analysis a step further by focusing on how those opportunities can be realised.

National Hydrogen Roadmap

The National Hydrogen Roadmap provides a blueprint for the development of a hydrogen industry in Australia.

The primary objective of the Roadmap is to provide a blueprint for the development of a hydrogen industry in Australia. With a number of activities already underway it is designed to help inform the next series of investment amongst various stakeholder groups (e.g. industry government and research) so that the industry can continue to scale in a coordinated manner.

Pathways to an economically sustainable industry

The low emissions hydrogen value chain now consists of a series of mature technologies. While there is considerable scope for further R&D this level of maturity has meant that the narrative has shifted from one of technology development to market activation.

Barriers to market activation stem from a lack of supporting infrastructure and/or the cost of hydrogen supply. However both barriers can be overcome via a series of strategic investments along the value chain from both the private and public sector.

The report shows that while government assistance is needed to kick-start the industry it can become economically sustainable thereafter. This is demonstrated by first assessing the target price of hydrogen needed for it be competitive with other energy carriers and feedstocks. Second the assessment considers the current state of the industry namely the cost and maturity of the underpinning technologies and infrastructure. It then identifies the material cost drivers and consequently the key priorities and areas for investment needed to make hydrogen competitive in each of the identified markets.

The opportunity for hydrogen to compete favourably on a cost basis in local applications such as transport and remote area power systems is within reach based on potential cost reductions to 2025. Further the development of a hydrogen export industry represents a significant opportunity for Australia and a potential 'game changer' for the local industry and the broader energy sector due to associated increases in scale."

You can read the full report on the CSIRO website at this link

Using hydrogen as an energy carrier requires new technological solutions for its onboard storage. The exploration of two-dimensional (2D) materials for hydrogen storage technologies has been motivated by their open structures which facilitates fast hydrogen kinetics. Herein the hydrogen storage properties of lightweight metal functionalized r57 haeckelite sheets are studied using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. H₂ molecules are adsorbed on pristine r₅₇ via physisorption. The hydrogen storage capacity of r₅₇ is improved by decorating it with alkali and alkaline-earth metals. In addition the in-plane substitution of r57 carbons with boron atoms (B@r57) both prevents the clustering of metals on the surface of 2D material and increases the hydrogen storage capacity by improving the adsorption thermodynamics of hydrogen molecules. Among the studied compounds B@r57-Li4 with its 10.0 wt% H₂ content and 0.16 eV/H₂ hydrogen binding energy is a promising candidate for hydrogen storage applications. A further investigation as based on the calculated electron localization functions atomic charges and electronic density of states confirm the electrostatic nature of interactions between the H₂ molecules and the protruding metal atoms on 2D haeckelite sheets. All in all this work contributes to a better understanding of pure carbon and B-doped haeckelites for hydrogen storage.

Hydrogen produced by solar and other clean energy sources is an essential alternative to fossil fuels. In this study a commercial alkaline electrolyzer with different cell numbers and electrode areas are simulated for different pressure temperature thermal resistance and electrical current. This alkaline electrolyzer is considered unsteady in simulations and different parameters such as temperature are obtained in terms of time. The obtained results are compared with similar results in the literature and good agreement is observed. Various characteristics of this alkaline electrolyzer as thermoneutral voltage faraday efficiency and cell voltage are calculated and displayed. The outlet heat rate and generated heat rate are obtained as well. The pressure and the temperature in the simulations are between 1 and 100 bar and between 300 and 360 Kelvin respectively. The results show that the equilibrium temperature is reached 2-3 hours after the time when the Alkaline electrolyzer starts to work.

As the global search for new methods to combat global warming and climate change continues renewable fuels and hydrogen have emerged as saviours for environmentally polluting industries such as aviation. Sustainable aviation is the goal of the aviation industry today. There is increasing interest in achieving carbon-neutral flight to combat global warming. Hydrogen has proven to be a suitable alternative fuel. It is abundant clean and produces no carbon emissions but only water after use which has the potential to cool the environment. This paper traces the historical growth and future of the aviation and aerospace industry. It examines how hydrogen can be used in the air and on the ground to lower the aviation industry’s impact on the environment. In addition while aircraft are an essential part of the aviation industry other support services add to the overall impact on the environment. Hydrogen can be used to fuel the energy needs of these services. However for hydrogen technology to be accepted and implemented other issues such as government policy education and employability must be addressed. Improvement in the performance and emissions of hydrogen as an alternative energy and fuel has grown in the last decade. However other issues such as the storage and cost and the entire value chain require significant work for hydrogen to be implemented. The international community’s alternative renewable energy and hydrogen roadmaps can provide a long-term blueprint for developing the alternative energy industry. This will inform the private and public sectors so that the industry can adjust its plan accordingly.

Hydrogen will become a dominant energy carrier in the future and the efficiency and lifetime cost of its production through water electrolysis is a major research focus. Alongside efforts to offer optimum solutions through plant design and sizing it is also necessary to develop a flexible virtualised replica of renewable hydrogen plants that not only models compatibility with the “plug-and-play” nature of many facilities but that also identifies key elements for optimisation of system operation. This study presents a model for a renewable hydrogen production plant based on real-time historical and present-day datasets of PV connected to a virtualised grid-connected AC microgrid comprising different technologies of batteries electrolysers and fuel cells. Mathematical models for each technology were developed from chemical and physical metrics of the plant. The virtualised replica is the first step toward the implementation of a digital twin of the system and accurate validation of the system behaviour when updated with real-time data. As a case study a solar hydrogen pilot plant consisting of a 60 kW Solar PV a 40 kW PEM electrolyser a 15 kW LIB battery and a 5 kW PEM fuel cell were simulated and analysed. Two effective operational factors on the plant's performance are defined: (i) electrolyser power settings to determine appropriate hydrogen production over twilight periods and/or overnight and (ii) a user-defined minimum threshold for battery state of charge to prevent charge depletion overnight if the electrolyser load is higher than its capacity. The objective of this modelling is to maximise hydrogen yield while both loss of power supply probability (LPSP) and microgrid excess power are minimised. This analysis determined: (i) a hydrogen yield of 38e39% from solar DC energy to hydrogen energy produced (ii) an LPSP <2.6 104 and (iii) < 2% renewable energy lost to the grid as excess electricity for the case study.

A paradigm shift towards the utilization of carbon-neutral and low emission fuels is necessary in the internal combustion engine industry to fulfil the carbon emission goals and future legislation requirements in many countries. Hydrogen as an energy carrier and main fuel is a promising option due to its carbon-free content wide flammability limits and fast flame speeds. For spark-ignited internal combustion engines utilizing hydrogen direct injection has been proven to achieve high engine power output and efficiency with low emissions. This review provides an overview of the current development and understanding of hydrogen use in internal combustion engines that are usually spark ignited under various engine operation modes and strategies. This paper then proceeds to outline the gaps in current knowledge along with better potential strategies and technologies that could be adopted for hydrogen direct injection in the context of compression-ignition engine applications—topics that have not yet been extensively explored to date with hydrogen but have shown advantages with compressed natural gas.

Over the past three years there has been a rapid increase in discussions across the different levels of Australia's governments about the role that hydrogen might play in helping the world transition to a low carbon future. While those working in the energy industry are aware of the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead the general public is less engaged. However we know from the  introduction of previous technologies that public attitudes towards technologies including whether they view them to be safe can severely impact overall acceptance. Understanding how the public perceives hydrogen both for domestic and export use and the potential benefits it brings to Australia is critical for the industry to progress. In this paper we present the initial findings of a national survey of the Australian public conducted in March 2021 which builds on the results of a previous survey conducted in 2018. The 2021 respondents were drawn from all Australian states and territories (n=3020) and quotas were used to ensure adequate representation of age groups and gender. Overall the respondents have favorable views about using hydrogen for energy in Australia with caveats about production-related environmental impacts and issues such as safety. While there has been a slight increase in support for hydrogen as a possible solution for energy and environmental challenges since the 2018 survey the effect size is very small. This suggests that while hydrogen discussions have increased at a policy level little has been done to improve public understanding of hydrogen in communication strategies will be needed as the Australian hydrogen industry continues to develop and gain more widespread media attention.

This discussion paper is for stakeholders who would like to shape the development of Victoria’s emerging green hydrogen sector identifying competitive advantages and priority focus areas for industry and the Victorian Government.<br/>The Victorian Government is using this paper to focus on the economic growth and sector development opportunities emerging for a Victorian hydrogen industry powered by renewable energy also known as ‘green’ hydrogen. In addition this paper seeks input from all stakeholders on how where and when the Victorian Government can act to establish a thriving green hydrogen economy.<br/>Although green hydrogen is the only type of hydrogen production within the scope of this discussion paper the development of the VHIP aligns with the policies projects and initiatives which support these other forms of hydrogen production. The VHIP is considering the broad policy landscape and actively coordinating with related hydrogen programs policies and strategies under development including the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council’s National Hydrogen Strategy to ensure a complementary approach. In Victoria there are several programs and strategies in development and underway that have linkages with hydrogen and the VHIP.