Australia is a step closer to a new hydrogen production and export industry following the CSIRO’s recent successful refuelling of two fuel cell vehicles.

The Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo vehicles were powered by ultra-high purity hydrogen, produced in Queensland using CSIRO’s membrane technology.

The CSIRO says this technology will pave the way for bulk hydrogen to be transported in the form of ammonia, using existing infrastructure, and then reconverted back to hydrogen. It has the potential to fill the gap in the technology chain to supply fuel cell vehicles around the world with low-emissions hydrogen sourced from Australia.

The membrane separates ultra-high purity hydrogen from ammonia, while blocking all other gases and the technology links hydrogen production, distribution and delivery in the form of a modular unit that can be used at, or near, a refuelling station. This means that the transportation and storage of hydrogen is simplified, allowing bulk hydrogen to be transported economically and efficiently in the form of liquid ammonia.

The CSIRO says that advances in solar and electrochemical technologies mean renewable hydrogen production is expected to become competitive with fossil fuel-based production, providing an opportunity to decarbonise both the energy and transport sectors while creating new export opportunities.

“This is a watershed moment for energy, and we look forward to applying CSIRO innovation to enable this exciting renewably-sourced fuel and energy storage medium a smoother path to market,” said CSIRO Chief Executive Larry Marshall.

“I’m delighted to see strong collaboration and the application of CSIRO know-how to what is a key part of the overall energy mix.”

BOC assisted in the project and the company’s Sales and Marketing Director Bruce Currie congratulated CSIRO on the successful refuelling.

“BOC’s innovative engineering team are proud to be collaborating with CSIRO researchers on this technology breakthrough, as we focus on advancing the hydrogen economy and global transition towards clean hydrogen for mobility and energy,” said Mr Currie.

Following this successful demonstration, the technology will be increased in scale and deployed in several larger-scale demonstrations, in Australia and abroad.
Following on from the successful demonstration, the CSIRO has released a National Hydrogen Roadmap – a document that sets out a path to develop a hydrogen economy.

Roadmap findings include:

• Hydrogen technologies are reaching maturity, with the narrative now shifting from R&D to market activation.
• Hydrogen presents a new export opportunity for Australia and could also play a significant role in enabling the further uptake of renewable energy.
• While the benefits are clear, current barriers to market activation include a lack of supporting infrastructure such as hydrogen refuelling stations for transport, and the cost of hydrogen supply for some applications.
• An appropriate policy framework could create a ‘market pull’ for hydrogen, with investment in infrastructure then likely to follow.
• In or around 2025, clean hydrogen could be cost-competitive with existing industrial feedstocks such as natural gas, and energy carriers such as batteries in many applications.

“Australia has a unique and urgent opportunity to turn significant natural resources, including coal, gas, and renewables like solar and wind energy, into a low-emissions energy product and ship it around the world – in some cases literally exporting Aussie sunshine,” said Dr Marshall.

“This National Hydrogen Roadmap provides a blueprint for growing Australia’s hydrogen industry through coordinated investment to be globally competitive.”

Source: https://dev.mtaq.com.au/motor-trader-september-2018/
19 Sep 2018