Melbourne-based Hadean Energy has been awarded a $15 million grant for technology that reduces the electricity used in hydrogen production by up to 30 per cent.
Co-developed with CSIRO, Hadean’s tubular solid oxide electrolyser (tSOE) technology boasts higher energy-efficiency than contemporary proton exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline-based electrolysis technologies.
The project aims to take Hadean’s technology to a 200–300kW industrial demonstration, with the first phase involving detailed engineering and design, safety work, procurement and manufacturing development. The technology has already completed a successful 1000-hour trial at BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks.
“Green hydrogen has an important role to play in reducing emissions from industries like steelmaking, chemicals and fuel production, but lowering production costs remains one of the sector’s biggest challenges,” Australian Renewable Energy Agency chief executive officer (CEO) Darren Miller said.
“Hadean’s technology has the potential to produce hydrogen using significantly less electricity than conventional electrolysers, helping improve efficiency and reduce costs for industrial users.”
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The most common method of producing hydrogen is by utilising fossil fuels. Hadean CEO Liz Boylan said this market could be their pathway towards national and international deployment.
“This is about finding a cheaper and more efficient way to make the products we all rely on while significantly reducing the associated emission,” Boylan said.
“Hadean wants to give existing users a cleaner, more efficient way to produce (hydrogen), using the heat they are already generating. If we can prove that at commercial scale, it has the potential to change the economics of clean hydrogen for some of the hardest industries to decarbonise.”
CSIRO senior principal research scientist Dr Sarb Giddey said Hadean’s tSOE technology can also convert carbon dioxide and steam directly into synthesis gas (syngas), a vital chemical feedstock and primary medium for extracting green hydrogen.
“Through co-electrolysis, steam and carbon dioxide are converted into hydrogen and carbon monoxide in a single electrochemical step, enabling the syngas composition to be tailored to downstream production requirements,” he said.
“This provides a more direct pathway to fuels, chemical and materials while creating an opportunity to utilise carbon dioxide as a valuable industrial feedstock rather than treating it solely as waste emissions.”
