Catalysts are substances that speed up chemical reactions by providing a more efficient route for a reaction to occur and making it easier to start and finish. Since catalysts are neither consumed nor altered in the reaction, they can be used repeatedly, and they are essential in a variety of industrial, environmental, and biochemical processes.

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The team, which included researchers from Hokkaido University, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and elsewhere, developed the catalyst, called NiOOH-Ni, by combining nickel (Ni) with nickel oxyhydroxide.

Ammonia can cause severe environmental problems, such as excessive algal growth in water bodies, which depletes oxygen and harms aquatic life. At high concentrations, ammonia can harm humans and wildlife. Effective management and conversion of ammonia are thus critical, but its corrosive nature makes it difficult to handle.

The researchers developed NiOOH-Ni using an electrochemical process. Nickel foam, a porous material, was treated with an electrical current while immersed in a chemical solution. This treatment resulted in the formation of nickel oxyhydroxide particles on the foam’s surface.

Despite their irregular and non-crystalline structure, these nickel-oxygen particles significantly enhance ammonia conversion efficiency. The catalyst’s design allows it to operate effectively at lower voltages and higher currents than traditional catalysts.

“NiOOH-Ni works better than Ni foam, and the reaction pathway depends on the amount of electricity (voltage) used,” explains Professor Zhenguo Huang from the University of Technology Sydney, who led the study.

“At lower voltages, NiOOH-Ni produces nitrite, while at higher voltages, it generates nitrate.”

This means the catalyst can be used in different ways depending on what is needed. For example, it can be used to clean wastewater by converting ammonia into less harmful substances. But in another process, it can also be used to produce hydrogen gas, a clean fuel. This flexibility makes NiOOH-Ni valuable for various applications.

“NiOOH-Ni is impressively durable and stable, and it works well even after being used multiple times,” says Associate Professor Andrey Lyalin from Hokkaido University, who was involved in the study.

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“This makes it a great alternative to traditional, more expensive catalysts like platinum, which aren’t as effective at converting ammonia.”

The catalyst’s long-term reliability makes it suitable for large-scale industrial use, potentially transforming how industries handle wastewater and produce clean energy.

The study has been published in Advanced Energy Materials.

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Australia may have the highest per capita deployment of rooftop solar in the world, but underperforming solar panels are costing consumers.

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The Smart Energy Asset Management Intelligence project is a collaboration involving researchers from UNSW and the UTS Institute of Sustainable Futures, as well as industry partners Global Sustainable Energy Solutions and the Australian Photovoltaic Institute.

Government partners including Lake Macquarie City Council, Lachlan Shire Council, City of Newcastle Council, Canada Bay Council and Bathurst Regional Council were approached for their data to create the algorithms for the software.

Chief investigator of the Smart Energy Asset Management Intelligence project, Dr Fiacre Rougieux from UNSW Sydney’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, said the algorithms had revolutionised the monitoring of photovoltaic systems.

“By analysing inverter and maximum power point data every five minutes, this algorithm can accurately diagnose underperforming issues, enabling early intervention and maximising energy production,” Dr Rougieux said.

The innovative technology developed in the project has now been fully integrated into a commercial production platform, which is being used by one of the project’s industry partners Global Sustainable Energy Solutions to monitor more than 100MW of solar assets.

Dr Rougieux said the project had developed a two-tiered approach to photovoltaic fault diagnosis.

“We have created a high-level diagnosis using just AC power data, which can detect broad categories of issues such as zero generation and tripping,” he said.

“The benefit of this approach is that this diagnosis is fully technology agnostic and can work with any inverter and maximum power point tracker brand.

“As many inverter brands give rich AC and DC information, we have also developed a more detailed algorithm using both AC and DC data, which can provide more actionable insights for asset owners by detecting and classifying more specific faults like shading and string issues.

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“This type of diagnosis requires both statistical rule-based methods backed up by machine learning approaches for cases which cannot be captured by conventional rule-based methods.”

The diverse algorithms can be implemented on more than 1,200 photovoltaic systems.
The team is now working on enhancing the algorithm so that it can diagnose a broader range of issues such as shading, soiling and detailed grid-side faults.

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Billed as the world’s most prestigious environmental award and as “the most important award for sustainability worldwide”, the Energy Globe Award for MyTown Microgrid, a local energy project hosted by the historic Victorian timber town of Heyfield.

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Co-led by its core partners: Heyfield Community Resource Centre (HCRC), UTS ISF and Wattwatchers Digital Energy, MyTown Microgrid explored the feasibility of a microgrid and other local energy solutions for Heyfield, a mixed farming and timber community with a population of around 2,000 about 200km east of Melbourne in the Wellington Shire.

With funding support from the Federal and Victorian governments, the Heyfield Community Resource Centre collaborated with researchers and tech companies to address the town’s energy challenges.

Spanning three years from mid-2020 to mid-2023, the project involved research, technical assessments and the development of a decision support tool. Real-time energy monitoring devices were installed across homes, businesses, and schools, offering insights on energy consumption and sustainability.

The Energy Globe selection jury noted, “MyTown prioritised community engagement, job creation, and inclusive decision-making, resulting in a free online tool to benefit other communities. Through its holistic approach, MyTown serves as a model for sustainable energy solutions in rural areas.”

UTS ISF research director Dr Scott Dwyer said that while a microgrid proved to be the wrong fit for Heyfield, the MyTown process had helped bring the community closer to reaching its energy goals with other options identified “that look much more promising.”

“Now Heyfield knows exactly where it needs to focus its efforts, while it has already built the capacity and knowledge it needs for the next step in the journey towards a better and fairer energy future,” he said.

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The MyTown project lives on in Heyfield as the MyTown Energy committee, continuing to work on local energy solutions, and beyond Heyfield as a guiding beacon for other communities.

The Energy Globe Award is the world’s most prestigious environmental award, which is awarded annually in more than 180 countries by the nonprofit Energy Globe Organization based in Austria.

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These are the key findings of a report published by Community Power Agency, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and University of Melbourne.

The report makes eight recommendations, including calling on all state and territory governments to unlock 100MW of community energy projects by 2028.

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Fifty-five groups—roughly half the Australian community energy sector—were surveyed about the largely volunteer-driven projects, which include solar, battery storage, energy efficiency, electric cars, microgrids and wind turbines.

The researchers asked groups about projects they’d been working on in the past 12 months and found:

• Groups had raised $86.8 million in funding for community energy infrastructure
• The projects had produced over 19,000MWh of clean energy—enough to power 2,800 homes for a year
• The projects had avoided 13,947 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent, which is the equivalent of removing 7,748 cars from the road for a year.

Since 2015, there has been the establishment of at least 30 new community energy groups and the sector currently has a strong estimated supporter base of 38,000 people.

The report found people involved in energy projects were primarily motivated by action on climate change and emissions reductions. This was followed by a desire for local participation in the renewable energy transition and for increased energy reliability and self-sufficiency.

Community Power Agency director Kristy Walters said, “It’s remarkable that these energy groups have achieved so much—funding their projects through the community, with minimal government support.

“This is the low hanging fruit of decarbonising our grid. Communities want to be involved in their own energy generation and the projects we have highlighted demonstrate how important this is for community buy-in.

“Community energy projects are vital to democratising our energy system and in the process they are enabling many other benefits at the local level.”

Co-author Dr Jonathan Marshall, a researcher from Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre (CSERC) at the University of Technology Sydney said, “These findings show the growth and interest in community renewable energy, not only as a source of energy, but as a source of local development and resilience. It also illustrates the difficulties that volunteer organisations face, especially when the regulations seem geared for large scale commercial developments.”

Related article: Government announces $100m Community Energy Fund

Despite their achievements, community energy groups face challenges such as a lack of funding, navigating complex regulatory systems and volunteer burnout. The report emphasises the need for targeted government support to overcome these obstacles including:

• Dedicated and ongoing grant funding for community energy projects and capacity building hubs
• The establishment of a Community Energy Collaboration Network to support community energy groups to navigate challenges and share knowledge
• The establishment of community feed-in tariffs for mid-scale community energy projects of 6-7c premium above PPA/wholesale rate for 10 years.

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The University of Technology (UTS) Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, led by Gomeroi researcher Professor Heidi Norman in collaboration with researchers from the Institute for Sustainable Futures will utilise the funding to work with Local Aboriginal Land Councils to assess renewable energy projects and climate change risk on their land.

The Indigenous-led research project builds on insights from Professor Norman’s 20 years of research on Aboriginal Land Rights in NSW and extensive consultation with the Aboriginal Land Council network.

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Professor Norman, Associate Dean (Indigenous) in the UTS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said Aboriginal people are already on the frontline of the climate crisis.

“This is in part the legacy of where Aboriginal reserves and missions were created and the land we have been able to recover under the Aboriginal Land Rights,” she said.

Despite holding communal land assets of significant conservation value, Indigenous communities have faced challenges in effectively participating in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

“Our research reveals that Aboriginal landholders are optimistic about the possibilities of renewable energy and can see the benefits of being involved in this sector but have limited resources to engage strategically in bold energy transition plans”, said Professor Norman.

“The renewable energy transition presents opportunities for Aboriginal landholders in NSW to participate in new and sustainable economies.

“This could include leveraging land for renewable energy projects, deriving benefits including collective income generation and capacity-building, and for Aboriginal values and aspirations to be built into the foundation and long-term operation of renewable energy projects.”

JMI will provide dedicated support to Professor Norman’s team to translate their insights for a policy audience and amplify their research impact through targeted engagement with policymakers.

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The research team is led by Professor Norman and includes Therese Apolonio, A/Prof Chris Briggs, A/Prof Sven Teske, Dr Sarah Niklas, Dr Ed Langham and Dr Saori Miyake.

The JMI-funded research complements other research initiatives involving Professor Norman and the CAIK team.

Professor Norman is a founding member of the First Nations Clean Energy Network and serves on the Steering Committee and was recently appointed to the Commonwealth Government’s First Nations Clean Energy and Emissions Reduction Advisory Group.

The advisory committee will assist the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in the development of a First Nations Clean Energy Strategy.

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Tens of thousands of small-scale hydro energy storage sites could be built from Australia’s farm dams, supporting the uptake of reliable, low-carbon power systems in rural communities, new UNSW Sydney-led research suggests.

The study, published in Applied Energy, finds agricultural reservoirs, like those used for solar-power irrigation, could be connected to form micro-pumped hydro energy storage systems—household-size versions of the Snowy Hydro hydroelectric dam project. It’s the first study in the world to assess the potential of these small-scale systems as an innovative renewable energy storage solution.

With the increasing shift towards variable energy sources like wind and solar photovoltaics, storing surplus energy is essential for ensuring a stable and reliable power supply. In other words, when the sun isn’t up or the wind isn’t blowing, stored energy can help balance energy supply and demand in real time and overcome the risk of shortages and overloads.

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In a micro-pumped hydro energy storage system, excess solar energy from high-production periods is stored by pumping water to a high-lying reservoir, which is released back to a low-lying reservoir when more power is needed, flowing through a turbine-connected generator to create electricity. However, constructing new water reservoirs for micro-pumped hydro energy storage can be expensive.

“The transition to low-carbon power systems like wind and solar photovoltaics needs cost-effective energy storage solutions at all scales,” says Dr Nicholas Gilmore, lead author of the study and lecturer at the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at UNSW Engineering.

“We thought—if you’re geographically fortunate to have two significant water volumes separated with sufficient elevation, you might have the potential to have your own hydro energy storage system.”

For the study, the team, which also included researchers from Deakin University and the University of Technology Sydney, used satellite imagery to create unique agricultural reservoir pairings across Australia from a 2021 dataset of farm dams. They then used graph theory algorithms—a branch of mathematics that models how nodes can be organised and interconnected – to filter commercially promising sites based on minimum capacity and slope.

“If you have a lot of dams in close proximity, it’s not viable to link them up in every combination,” says Dr Thomas Britz, co-author of the study and senior lecturer at UNSW Science’s School of Mathematics and Statistics. So, we use these graph theory algorithms to connect the best dam configurations with a reasonable energy capacity.”

From nearly 1.7 million farm dams, the researchers identified over 30,000 sites across Australia as promising for micro-pumped hydro energy storage. The average site could provide up to 2kW of power and 30kWh of usable energy—enough to back up a South Australian home for 40 hours.

“We identified tens of thousands of these potential sites where micro-pumped hydro energy storage systems could be installed without undertaking costly reservoir construction,” Dr Gilmore says.

“That’s thousands of households that could potentially increase their solar usage, saving money on their energy bills, and reducing their carbon footprint.”

The research team also benchmarked a micro-pumped hydro site to a commercially available lithium-ion battery in solar-powered irrigation systems. Despite a low discharge efficiency, they found the pumped hydro storage was 30% cheaper for a large single cycle load due to its high storage capacity.

“While the initial outlay for a micro-pumped hydro energy storage system is higher than a battery, the advantages are larger storage capacity and potential durability for decades,” Dr Gilmore says.

“But that cost is significantly reduced anyway by capitalising on existing reservoirs, which also has the added benefit of less environmental impact.”

Building micro-pumped hydro energy power systems from existing farm dams could also assist rural areas susceptible to power outages that need a secure and reliable backup power source. Battery backup power is generally limited to less than half a day, while generators, though powerful, are dependent on affordable fuel supply and produce harmful emissions.

“People on the fringes of the electricity network can be more exposed to power outages, and the supply can be less reliable,” Dr Gilmore says.

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“If there’s a power outage during a bushfire, for example, a pumped hydro system will give you enough energy to last a day, whereas a battery typically lasts around eight hours.”

Although encouraging, the researchers say some limitations of the study require further analysis, including fluctuations in water availability, pump scheduling and discharge efficiency.

“Our findings are encouraging for further development of this emerging technology, and there is plenty of scope for future technological improvements that will make these systems increasingly cheaper over time,” Dr Gilmore says.

“The next step would be setting up a pilot site, testing the performance of a system in action and modelling it in detail to get real-world validation—we have 30,000 potential candidates!”

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This program establishes a hydrogen team of leading experts from throughout the Faculty of Engineering and IT, and the Institute for Sustainable Futures. They combine highly complementary skills with solid connections with industry, academia, and government agencies at home and abroad. There is expertise in generation and storage, transport vectors, economic analysis, safety, policy and regulation, and environmental impacts.

For Australia, hydrogen could support the transition to low emissions energy across electricity, heating, transport and industry, improving the resilience of energy systems and increasing consumer choice. It could also generate major economic benefits through export revenue and new industries, and 3000 new jobs by 2030 according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). 

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Dr Zhenguo Huang is the Program Leader at the UTS School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Chair of the International Hydrogen Carriers Alliance.

“The Hydrogen Program aims to create a network to develop Australia’s capacity to lead hydrogen energy development, promote Australia as an international hydrogen energy hub, prepare skilled workers for the emerging global hydrogen economy and connect technology providers with existing and emerging Australian hydrogen producers and overseas markets,” he said.

UTS researchers are already conducting world-class ARC-funded research in hydrogen storage that aims to address one key challenge for storing and delivering large amounts of hydrogen, and have established collaborations with industry partners including KOGAS, and a commercial research partnership with Boron Molecular.

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The 32 MW Walgett solar farm is being developed in stages by NSW-based renewable energy company Epuron, with construction expected to begin soon and first generation to commence in mid-2019.

The PPA with Walgett Solar Farm in north central NSW represents the equivalent of half the university’s annual electricity demand. As well as allowing the solar farm to proceed, the agreement means UTS will benefit from a competitive fixed ongoing energy cost, with the potential for substantial savings over the life of the contract.

UTS says the deal demonstrates the emerging commercial opportunities available to the renewable industry via direct links between renewable generators and users, and Epuron Director Martin Poole agrees.

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“For our renewable projects to be able to attract finance and get built, it’s crucial to find suitable partners to become committed customers and provide certainty,” he said. “With the UTS commitment to purchase our clean energy output, the Walgett Solar Farm can move ahead and we look forward to commencing construction in the coming months.”

In an Australian first, in 2015 UTS became the first large energy customer to contract directly for offsite solar. The institution has also been investing heavily in on-site solar on its campus, installing six solar systems on building rooftops. Further solar development is planned for 2019 and beyond.

UTS Green Infrastructure project manager Jonathan Prendergast said Walgett Solar has high levels of sun exposure, even in winter, so it will generate consistently across the year.

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“While much of Australia’s rooftop solar capacity is on houses, and therefore in population centres, projects like Walgett Solar Farm spread our solar capacity geographically, providing more consistent solar generation that’s less subject to local weather patterns,” he said.

The Walgett Solar Farm will produce about 63,000 MWh a year of electricity once fully built, enough to power 9600 NSW homes.

UTS has also installed six solar systems on its building rooftops, and plans for solar development in 2019 and beyond.

For its part, Epuron is responsible for more than 4000 MW of wind farm developments. One of the two founders is a UTS alumni, having studied engineering at UTS in the 1990s.

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The Victorian Healthy Homes program will provide energy efficiency upgrades to the homes of low-income individuals who are receiving home and community care services.

It will also measure the health, comfort and financial benefits that can be achieved by improving a building’s thermal performance.

Government will partner with Moreland Energy Foundation Limited and the University of Technology Sydney to deliver the Home Energy Assist package.

Program recruitment is due to start early 2018 in Melbourne and 2019 in the Goulburn Valley.

Moreland Energy Foundation Limited works with households, businesses, community groups and governments on new ways to implement sustainable energy supply and reducing energy use. They will manage frontline services for the home visits and energy efficiency upgrades.

The University of Technology Sydney is bringing together researchers from their Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation and Institute for Sustainable Futures to measure the health, energy and climate change benefits of the program.

“We’re pleased to be able to work with the most vulnerable households in our community to deliver what we hope will lead to significantly improved health outcomes and reduced energy poverty,” Moreland Energy Foundation Limited CEO Alison Rowe said in a statement.

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The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) commissioned the report, authored by Dr Sven Teske at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures.

It analyses the views of 114 renowned energy experts from every region of the world.

Renewables Global Futures Report: Great debates towards 100% renewable energy has been released this week as experts and policymakers from around the world gather at the Sustainable Energy for All Forum in New York.

“There is an overwhelming consensus among the experts we interviewed that renewable power will dominate in the future, even with rising global energy demand,” Dr Teske said.

“The question is not if we can achieve the transition to renewables, but when.

“Numerous companies, regions, islands and cities are tracking towards their 100 per cent renewable energy targets.

“However, what we do this present moment is crucial. We need to see greater policy certainty at the national level to unlock an expansion and reduce carbon emissions rapidly to avoid dangerous climate change.”

One of the most striking results from the report is that two-thirds of experts expect renewables to outpace fossil fuels economically within the next decade.

“Given the long planning and construction time of fossil fuel projects – new coal-fired power plants need around five to seven years – most fossil fuel infrastructure projects will be uneconomic by the time they are ready to produce energy,” Dr Teske said.

“New fossil fuel projects are most likely stranded assets and dead at arrival.”

More than 90 per cent of the experts interviewed agree that renewable energy technologies serve to lower the barrier for communities to gain access to energy services.

An estimated 100 million people now receive electricity via distributed renewable energy systems, and markets for such systems are growing rapidly.

“When REN21 was founded in 2004, the future of renewable energy looked very different than it does today,” REN21 chair Arthouros Zervos said.

“Back then, no one could have imagined that in 2016: renewable energy would account for 86 per cent of all new EU power installations; China would become the renewable energy powerhouse of the world; and more than half of global renewable energy investment would take place in emerging economies and developing countries.

“Calls then for 100 per cent renewable energy were not taken seriously. Today the world’s leading energy experts are engaged in rational discussions about its feasibility, and in what time frame.”

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The agreement with Brookfield Energy will see a significant proportion of chilled energy soured from the Central Park plant, and is the first precinct plant in Australia.

Brookfield Energy CEO Richie Sheather said the more the plant is used, the greater the long-term energy efficiencies for all users.

“We see district energy as a way of the future and anticipate working on similar initiative in other parts of Australia,” Mr Sheather said.

UTS infrastructure project manager Jonathan Prendergast is leading the $1.3 billion campus masterplan which includes new buildings and facilities which will need air-conditioning and chilling facilities, and said investing in chilling infrastructure can be expensive.

“Investment in chilling infrastructure can be capital and space intensive, requiring new chilling plant, pumps, connecting pipework, cooling towers and electrical infrastructure,” he said.

“Procuring a portion of UTS’s cooling from an offsite supplier, UTS can invest in its core business and free up space for teaching, offices and a more active roof space without cooling towers.”

Heating, cooling and ventilation accounts for approximately 62 per cent or UTS’s total electricity use, and the partnership with Brookfield Energy will see UTS’s greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 2.2 per cent or 1111 tonnes of CO2 each year.

District energy systems are widely used internationally. The Chicago District Cooling System supplies chilling to more than 100 buildings in the Chicago CBD from four energy plants. The Toronto District Cooling System services more than 140 buildings.

District energy systems can also incorporate thermal storage which can stretch peak capacity and operational flexibility and efficiency.

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