Related article: Sparc Hydrogen progresses pilot plant development

The provisional patent application has been submitted by Sparc on the back of more than 12 months of work with the University of Adelaide investigating alternate substrates, coating methods and delivery systems within photocatalytic water-splitting (PWS) reactors.

Initial proof of concept has been achieved with an analogue photocatalyst material demonstrating the potential to improve the current methods for coating and delivery of particulate photocatalysts to achieve higher solar to hydrogen efficiencies and lower operating costs through increased durability and better handling.

The majority of this work has been completed at the University of Adelaide with funding from Sparc Technologies.

Sparc managing director Nick O’Loughlin said, “The lodgement of this provisional patent application is significant not just insofar as the technology’s potential to improve the cost and efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting systems, but also the synergies it demonstrates between Sparc’s coatings and polymers expertise being applied to uplift the value of its investment in Sparc Hydrogen.

“Results in the lab are very encouraging and given the nascent stage of the PWS industry there is strong potential to deliver a highly relevant and complementary platform technology protected by IP which is 100% owned by Sparc Technologies.”

Sparc Hydrogen’s utilisation of PWS technology is set apart from conventional approaches to produce green hydrogen. Crucially, PWS does not rely on renewable energy sources such as solar or wind farms, nor expensive electrolysers, to produce hydrogen from water. This addresses a fundamental issue in the nascent green hydrogen industry—the cost of renewable power.

Related article: New catalyst could advance green hydrogen production

Sparc Hydrogen’s pioneering technology employs a photocatalyst material and sunlight to produce ‘ultra-green’ hydrogen directly from water. Hydrogen produced from PWS can serve as a clean fuel or feedstock to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries.

The post Sparc files patent application for photocatalyst coatings appeared first on Energy Source & Distribution.

Why hydrogen, and why here?

Hydrogen can be a carrier of energy where you cannot directly electrify or use batteries, whether a matter of time or weight or distance, says Australian Hydrogen Council CEO Dr Fiona Simon.

“Australia has incredible renewable energy potential and existing infrastructure to support new export markets. We also have manufacturing opportunities, such as components and assembly for electrolysers.

“The major opportunities are currently in the production of green and clean hydrogen and derivatives such as green ammonia, green metals and sustainable aviation fuel. This will open up opportunities to decarbonise domestically and create new export markets with our strategic trade partners such as Japan and Korea.”

Related article: Aussie breakthrough to slash green hydrogen costs by 40%

Misconceptions and applications

Dr Nikolai Kinaev, leader of CSIRO’s Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform, says hydrogen is often misunderstood.

“Hydrogen is not a fuel. Fuel is something you burn or use to get more energy from than you use to produce. When you produce hydrogen from electrolysis, you split the water molecule and spend some energy. Unfortunately, due to thermodynamics, you use more energy to produce hydrogen than you get from it. However, with so-called ‘natural’ hydrogen that is formed sub-surface, the energy is kindly donated by geological processes, which means we can see it as ‘free energy’,” he says.

“The other misconception is that hydrogen is a silver bullet. It is simply an important part of an overall, balanced solution.”

Dr Kinaev outlines some of the main applications for hydrogen in Australia’s decarbonisation journey:

Energy storage

Hydrogen can be used as an energy storage medium to balance renewables’ intermittency in the electricity grid. Excess electricity, particularly from wind or solar, can be used to produce hydrogen through electrolysis. The hydrogen can then be stored and converted back to electricity when needed. Hydrogen can also be used as longer-term seasonal energy storage, storing excess energy generated during peak times for use during periods of high demand.

Industrial use

Hydrogen is an excellent feedstock for industrial processes such as the production of ammonia for fertilisers, petroleum refining, and the production of methanol. It can also be used in industries like steel production as a reducing agent to remove oxygen from iron ore, lowering carbon emissions. Hydrogen can also be used to convert biomass or waste into synthetic fuels.

Transportation

Hydrogen is used as a fuel in fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), where it reacts with oxygen in a fuel cell to produce electricity, powering the vehicle’s electric motor. FCVs emit only water vapor as a byproduct, making them a zero-emission option. Hydrogen can also be used directly or blended with traditional fuels in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

Power generation

Hydrogen can be used in combined heat and power (CHP) systems to generate both electricity and heat for industrial and residential applications. It can also be burned in gas turbines for power generation during peak demand periods.

Commercialisation challenges

Launched in 2021, CSIRO’s Hydrogen Industry Mission focuses on leveraging the national science agency’s hydrogen research capabilities in partnership with government, industry and the research community.

“When it comes to commercial viability, the challenge is to have a project that is good science and relevant to the industry,” Dr Kinaev explains, noting that most of the hydrogen technologies we need are already available.

“If we wanted to switch our hydrogen industry on tomorrow, we could. It wouldn’t be efficient or cost-effective, but it could be done,” he says.

“A key factor is supply and demand. Users won’t invest heavily in hydrogen use applications unless they are sure there is a demand for it.

“Secondly, you need the infrastructure for production, storage, transport, etc. Green hydrogen depends on renewables. We need to look at a storage and distribution network suitable for hybrid large-scale production. Then, we need to identify where is the technology gap for use of hydrogen at smaller scales.”

“Thirdly, little will progress unless we have good social acceptance. We need social surveys carried out by social scientists who provide expertise through advance maths to gauge social acceptance.”

Innovation and opportunity

Hydrogen provides an opportunity for moving manufacturing back to Australia on a new technology level that is environmentally friendly,” Dr Kinaev explains.

“It provides an opportunity to bring sovereign industry back to Australia through which we can generate wealth, not just from the resources but also from the products. Australia has a good chance to become a supplier of technologies and critical parts for hydrogen-related technologies as well.”

Dr Kinaev also points to Australia’s development of hydrogen hubs as “world-class models” for industry.

“Because we have various types of hydrogen producers, handlers and users, it is important to have a compact area where all these stakeholders can learn what type of infrastructure they need, how to interact with each other and work on the synergy required. Hubs are not just centrepieces but ecosystems; a small model for a much larger industry.

Australian companies are also responsible for a number of breakthroughs in electrolysis, with Hysata and CSIRO spin-offs Hadean Energy and Endua demonstrating world standards in terms of the efficiency. Sparc Hydrogen and its university partners have developed breakthroughs in photocatalytic water splitting, which provides an alternate method of producing renewable green hydrogen.

Universities and CSIRO are both working in this area, with CSIRO looking at the manufacture of scalable options.

Accelerating Aussie hydrogen

Asked about the policies and initiatives required to keep Australia at the forefront of the global hydrogen market, Australian Hydrogen Council CEO Dr Fiona Simon says the Federal Budget measures announced by the Australian Government in May were “an important step in the right direction”.

“However, steps need to be taken quickly to ensure there is clear policy to get major hydrogen projects for the 2030s and 2040s to a final investment decision. Incentives are absolutely vital. The public interest is in decarbonisation, and without very strong economy-wide price signals to value carbon—and even with them—we need to look at incentives from government to help bridge the gap,” she says.

“We expect more to be addressed in the refreshed National Hydrogen Strategy, which is to be released this year.”

Hysata CEO Dr Paul Barrett says Australia must ensure cohesion with trading partners to facilitate global trade of hydrogen and its derivatives.

“Trade agreements with our allies, with the goal of securing offtake of Australian-produced hydrogen or derivatives, notably green iron, can help projects reach final investment decision,” he explains.

“Australia will also see a large demand for electrolysers, and other equipment and materials that are needed across the green hydrogen supply chain. Hysata would like to see strong domestic content requirements across Hydrogen Headstart and the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive program in line with what we are witnessing in the EU and US. It is important for Australia to build self-reliance in the green hydrogen industry to accelerate its scaling.

“Hysata would also like to see the federal and state governments establish green iron as a priority industry for the country and support its development and export. Iron is of critical national importance to the Australian economy and global industry, estimated at approximately AU$135 billion in domestic export earnings for the most recent financial year. Converting it to green iron has the potential to increase our export earnings from iron ore five times. South Australia is moving ahead with its green iron strategy, and we would like to see other governments follow.”

Related article: Findings shared from Australia’s first hydrogen microgrid

Did you know?

It is estimated the clean hydrogen industry will support 16,000 jobs by 2050, plus an additional 13,000 from the construction of related renewable energy infrastructure. Australian hydrogen production for export and domestic use could generate more than $50 billion in additional GDP by 2050, and result in avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a third of Australia’s current fossil fuel emissions by 2050.

The post A glimpse at Australia’s hydrogen future appeared first on Energy Source & Distribution.

Sparc has also secured an in-principle agreement from the University of Adelaide to locate the plant at its Roseworthy Campus, and progressed the detailed design and engineering for the pilot-scale water splitting reactor.

Related article: Aussie breakthrough to slash green hydrogen costs by 40%

Each of these milestones represents material de-risking of the pilot plant development workstreams building on from the pre-FEED study and the successful prototyping work completed at the CSIRO Energy Centre in early April 2024.

In parallel, work continues in the laboratory to test and optimise Sparc Hydrogen’s photocatalytic water splitting reactor under a range of conditions using different photocatalyst materials. A decision to proceed with the pilot plant remains subject to Sparc Hydrogen board approval.

Sparc Technologies managing director Nick O’Loughlin said, “Sparc is delighted with the progress that the Sparc Hydrogen team has made over recent weeks and months with respect to key development workstreams for the pilot plant.

“In particular, formalising a relationship with Shinshu University providing a collaboration for the supply of their world-leading photocatalysts for testing in Sparc Hydrogen’s reactors, is a significant milestone.

“I would also like to thank the University of Adelaide for their ongoing support, as evidenced by the in-principle decision to locate the pilot plant at Roseworthy Campus.”

Related article: Sparc tests photocatalytic water splitting reactor at CSIRO

Shinshu University Professor Kazunari Domen commented, “Shinshu University is pleased to collaborate with Sparc Hydrogen on the research, development and field testing of a concentrated sunlight water splitting photocatalytic reaction system.

“Such reaction environments have not been tested at Shinshu University before, and we are very interested to see what kind of activity and reaction characteristics our photocatalyst will exhibit. The knowledge gained will be important for the scale-up of the reactor.”

The post Sparc Hydrogen progresses pilot plant development appeared first on Energy Source & Distribution.

The goal of the prototype testing is to advance the technology readiness level (TRL) of Sparc Hydrogen’s PWS reactor and provide valuable data and information for the subsequent piloting phase.

Related article: Sparc reveals ‘exceptional’ sodium ion battery results

Sparc Technologies executive chairman Stephen Hunt said, “Sparc is delighted to be working with our Sparc Hydrogen partners, The University of Adelaide, FFI and
Flinders University, to undertake this testing with the CSIRO, in what we believe to be a world leading demonstration of photocatalytic water splitting in a concentrated solar field.
Completion of this test work will be a significant milestone, not only for Sparc Hydrogen, but more widely for the advancement of photocatalytic water splitting, a next generation green hydrogen production technology which does not require capital intensive electrolysers nor solar or wind farms.”

Prototype testing of Sparc Hydrogen’s reactor in real world conditions is the culmination of nearly five years of research and development work conducted by the University of Adelaide and Flinders University. Laboratory proof of concept has been successfully established whereby several lab-scale reactor prototypes have been developed and tested under simulated solar concentration. This testing has shown a hydrogen production and efficiency benefit from exposing certain photocatalyst materials to concentrated light and heat. A high-power solar simulator has recently been acquired from the United States to continue to advance the laboratory work in parallel with prototyping and pilot plant development.

The CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle was identified as being an ideal facility to conduct the first on-sun testing of Sparc Hydrogen’s PWS reactor. The facility is home to Australia’s largest solar thermal research hub. The hub comprises a 30m-high solar tower surrounded by a 4,000sqm field of 451 locally manufactured custom designed mirrors (heliostats), as shown in Figure 1, and is capable of generating temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius. The hub provides a platform that allows Australian researchers to develop, test and commercialise technologies which incorporate concentrated solar.

Sparc Hydrogen has received funding of $28,688 through the CSIRO Kick-Start Program to contribute towards the costs of the prototype testing. Kick-Start is an initiative designed to support innovative Australian start-ups and small businesses in accessing CSIRO’s research expertise and capabilities to foster growth and development.

Design of the prototype reactor module is complete and construction, including for the balance of plant, has commenced. Sparc Hydrogen is aiming to commence set-up of the prototype at the CSIRO in late July 2023 with results to be gathered over a period of approximately four weeks. A second round of testing later in the year will be considered pending results.

Related article: Study confirms potential for Sparc Green Hydrogen process

The key aims of the prototype testing include:

• Advancing the TRL of Sparc Hydrogen’s PWS reactor from 4 to 51 which is one level closer to a commercially deployable product.
• Providing valuable data and information for pilot plant reactor design.
• To enable benchmarking of laboratory testing under simulated solar conditions with real world results.
• Further establishing Sparc Hydrogen as a world leading proponent of PWS technology and particularly as having a viable reactor to test new and better photocatalysts under development by leading research groups around the world.

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