Projects

We are developing new ways to export energy from Australia using hydrogen. We are studying new types of hydrogen-rich powders that can be used to store hydrogen indefinitely and easily transport hydrogen until it needs to be released. The hydrogen can be released simply by adding water to the powder.

We are developing new types of thermal batteries using both metal hydrides and metal carbonates. These thermal batteries can be used to store excess heat or electrical energy and can provide energy on demand. Thermal batteries are an alternative to expensive Li-ion batteries but are more suitable for large-scale energy storage due to their high operating temperatures.

We are developing new types of all-solid-state batteries that may replace current generation Li-ion batteries. Our focus is in synthesising new types of solid-state ionic conductors that can be used in batteries based on lithium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and aluminium.

We are investigating the permeation of hydrogen through metals and plastics. This project aims to develop new types of coatings for pipelines and hydrogen containment vessels to avoid corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement.

We have a project to use Raman scattering to detect hydrogen gas. This project aims to develop a technology to remotely detect hydrogen, which will be important for airborne detection of natural hydrogen along with detecting hydrogen leaks from pipelines.

We have a long history of designing new materials to store hydrogen in the solid-state as powders. These metal hydrides are useful to store hydrogen in an energy dense manner. This type of hydrogen storage may be beneficial for vehicular transport applications on cars, trucks, mining vehicles, ships, and stationary storage applications.

We are engaged in a research initiative with government and industry partners to pilot hydrogen-fuelled heavy-duty vehicles in WA, a part of the Future Energy Exports CRC’s Program 2. This project explores the entire supply chain covering aspects such as hydrogen production, transportation, refuelling stations, vehicles, emissions and market.