Australian breakthrough technology that could cut the cost of producing low-emissions metals, fertiliser and sustainable aviation fuel has been awarded $15 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Melbourne-based company Hadean Energy is commercialising CSIRO-developed technology designed to tackle one of the biggest barriers to producing renewable hydrogen: the cost of electricity in the electrolysis process. Hadean's tubular Solid Oxide Electrolyser (tSOE) can harness waste heat already generated by industrial plants, reducing electricity requirements by up to 30 per cent compared with conventional hydrogen production.
Hydrogen is an essential input for industrial processing including steelmaking, fertiliser and chemical production, and fuel refining, but most of it is still produced using fossil fuels, meaning higher net emissions. Hadean's technology can also produce synthesis gas or ‘syngas’, used to make low-carbon fuels including sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, showing progress via recent global trials.
Recent disruptions to global fuel and fertiliser markets have highlighted Australia's exposure to international supply chains and volatile prices. Technology that enables hydrogen and syngas to be produced domestically, using renewable grid electricity or power generated onsite, could help strengthen Australia's ability to produce essential fuels and fertilisers at home and provide greater resilience against future supply and price shocks.
While demand for hydrogen as an industrial feedstock remains strong, many steelmakers, fertiliser producers, refiners and chemical manufacturers continue to rely on hydrogen produced using fossil fuels. Hadean is targeting this existing market as a pathway to commercial deployment in Australia and internationally.
Hadean CEO Liz Boylan said the goal was to make cleaner industrial production more economically viable.
“Ultimately this is about finding a cheaper and more efficient way to make the products we all rely on while significantly reducing the associated emissions,” Ms Boylan said.
“There is already a large industrial market for hydrogen in Australia and internationally. Hadean wants to give existing users a cleaner, more efficient way to produce it, 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. Our technology also has a pathway to produce synthesis gas for the rapidly expanding renewable fuels market, including for the aviation, mining, transport and shipping sectors.’”
Proven in a working steelworks
Hadean was co-founded by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and RFC Ambrian to commercialise technology developed by Australian scientists over a period of about eight years. Unlike conventional high-temperature electrolysers built around flat ceramic cells, Hadean's technology uses a tubular design intended to simplify manufacturing, improve durability and reduce potential points of failure. It also avoids the use of rare and expensive metals and has the potential to significantly reduce both capital and operating costs.
The technology has already completed a successful 1,000-hour pilot at BlueScope's Port Kembla Steelworks, using steam generated by the steelmaking process to produce hydrogen. During the trial, it produced hydrogen using less than 36kWh of electricity per kilogram, compared with around 50-55kWh typically required by other electrolyser technologies.
Dr Gurpreet Kaur, CSIRO Senior Research Scientist
“Hydrogen is not a new commodity. It is already an essential feedstock for industries including fertilisers, fuels and chemicals, yet most of it is still produced using natural gas and coal. What sets the Hadean technology apart is its ability to harness steam and waste heat to significantly reduce the electricity required to produce hydrogen. Combined with materials and cell designs developed to deliver high performance and durability under industrial operating conditions, these attributes are critical to translating high-temperature electrolysis from promising research into an industry-viable technology capable of operating at scale.”
Dr Sarb Giddey, CSIRO Senior Principal Research Scientist
“The Hadean technology can also convert steam and carbon dioxide directly into synthesis gas, or syngas, one of the most important building blocks in the chemical industry. 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. This provides a more direct pathway to fuels, chemicals and materials while creating an opportunity to utilise carbon dioxide as a valuable industrial feedstock rather than treating it solely as waste emissions.”
Scaling towards commercial deployment
The ARENA-backed project represents the biggest test yet of Hadean's technology, with ARENA providing $15 million towards the $30 million project to scale the technology to an industrial demonstration and support progression towards future commercial deployment.
The project is designed to take Hadean's technology to a 200-300kW industrial demonstration. It also aims to advance the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to 9. The first phase will include further technology development, detailed engineering and design, manufacturing development, procurement, safety work and preparation for integration into an industrial site. This will be followed by construction, commissioning and operation of the larger electrolyser system.
Darren Miller, CEO Australian Renewable Energy Agency
"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. 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.
"This project will demonstrate Australian-developed technology in a real industrial environment, providing valuable evidence of its performance and helping take it another step towards commercial deployment. If successful, it could support lower-emissions steelmaking, strengthen Australia's manufacturing capability and create new opportunities for Australian hydrogen technologies both here and overseas.”
Engineering firm Amarna Energy is delivering the balance of plant design for the demonstration and has also invested in Hadean as part of this round.
Amarna Energy Director Andrew Lelliott
"We don't often put our own money into the projects we work on, but Hadean was an easy decision. The Port Kembla results showed this technology works in a real industrial environment, and that's what gets engineers interested. Our job now is to design the plant around the electrolyser so it sits properly inside an operating industrial site, safely and reliably, and gives the technology a fair test at a scale that means something to future customers.
“Hadean is going after industries that already use a lot of hydrogen and already produce a lot of waste heat. That's a practical way to commercialise, and it's why we wanted to be part of it from the start. Taking CSIRO science and turning it into something that can be built, operated and eventually rolled out across Australian industry is exactly the kind of work we want to be doing.”
Australian investors back the technology
Aside from the ARENA grant, Hadean has separately secured investment to cover its contribution, enabling the initial engineering, design and development work to proceed and the corresponding ARENA funding to be drawn down.
Investors in this round include RFC Ambrian Funds Management, engineering partner Amarna Energy and private investors. The raise will support the engineering, design and development work required before construction of the larger demonstration system begins.
RFC Ambrian Executive Chairman Rob Adamson said Hadean's progress was particularly significant given the reset in global investment in hydrogen.
“Investors want evidence that technologies work, that they solve a genuine economic problem and that there are customers who need them,” Mr Adamson said. “Hadean has spent the past several years building that evidence. Australia produces exceptional science and Hadean is an opportunity to build a globally significant Australian company around it.”
Hadean expects to raise additional capital over the next twelve months for the project's construction phase and to support broader activities.
Building Australian industrial capability
The potential benefits extend beyond reducing emissions. Producing hydrogen onsite could reduce reliance on transported hydrogen and strengthen Australia's ability to manufacture essential products such as steel, fertiliser and fuels domestically, supporting both our industrial and agricultural sectors.
“This is Australian science, commercialised here at home. If we get this right, Australia has an opportunity not only to reduce emissions from our own industries, but to manufacture at scale and export the technology, driving global emissions reductions.” Hadean CEO Liz Boylan
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Background information
Hadean Energy is an Australian clean technology company established by CSIRO and RFC Ambrian to commercialise CSIRO-developed tubular Solid Oxide Electrolysis technology.
Its technology uses high-temperature electrolysis and can harness waste heat from industrial processes to reduce the electricity required to produce renewable hydrogen.
Hadean's technology can also produce synthesis gas for applications including sustainable aviation fuel and renewable methanol. Hadean is based at CSIRO's Clayton research precinct in Melbourne. Find out more at: https://hadeanenergy.com.au/