Australian Government and international policies are continuously emerging to support a green hydrogen industry. A global target of low-cost hydrogen (below $2/kg) is currently in place to help industries achieve decarbonisation goals by adopting hydrogen at scale.
Our tubular solid oxide electrolysis (tSOE) technology produces hydrogen by electrolysing water using a combination of heat and electricity. The technology allows 30 per cent less electricity consumption (<42 kWh/kg of hydrogen) compared to existing alkaline and polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyser technologies (~60 kWh/kg of hydrogen).
Its cell materials and configuration also allow for simplified, low-cost manufacturing processes.
The technology is being commercialised through the creation of a new company. We are seeking interest from strategic and industrial investors who are interested in supporting the growth of Australia’s hydrogen industry.
Technology
The key potential benefits of our tubular solid oxide electrolysis technology include:
- simplified structural design with less sealing requirements
- lower manufacturing cost
- higher durability
- lower cost of balance of plant
- high operating efficiencies (by avoiding associated costs of hydrogen recycling required in the conventional electrolysers).
It also allows operational flexibility with a fully-reversible design made possible by symmetrical cell configuration. This allows the technology to be equally suitable for combined heat and power (CHP) applications.
Importantly, its ability to integrate with upstream and downstream processes can make this technology highly efficient, for example in ammonia and methanol production.
Applications
Because hydrogen and syngas (H2/CO) are established feedstocks for the production of value-added chemicals and fuels, the technology has a wide range of applications across industries, including steel, ammonia, petrochemical, methanol and heavy transport. The technology can also be used directly in industry where there is demand for hydrogen in the process, eliminating the cost and technical challenges of storing and transporting hydrogen at scale.
Intellectual property
Cell materials, design and scalable fabrication methods.
The team
The team working on this technology are experienced materials scientists, technology developers, industrial engineers, and commercial partners.
They have significant experience in high and low temperature electrochemistry, hydrogen related technologies (PEM and SOE), ammonia synthesis and ammonia cracking, oxygen generation, and building prototype systems. The team also has a track record of taking CSIRO IP through to market, with technologies on their way to being commercialised in new spinout companies.