After the unexpected discovery of the first hydrogen engine, the proposal came from hydrogen powder. It could change the world in ways we never imagined. Until now, one of the major challenges in implementing hydrogen has been its transportation.
In gaseous format it is flammable, unstable and difficult to process in large volumes due to its low density. Compressing or liquefying them involves significant energy and economic costs.
Spaina country that aims to export green H to the rest of the country Europe through a corridor of hydrogen factories connected by gas pipelines: the famous H2Med. Australia You have no choice but to do it by sea. There are already ships specialized in mobilizing liquid H.
However, it is more common to use refrigerated ships to transport ammonia and other liquid organic carriers, which then release the H with chemical reactions.
Another economical and safe option is to use sodium borohydride powder as a carrier, but this alternative is usually not chosen because the resulting byproduct, called sodium metaborate, is expensive to recycle.
Australia is transporting hydrogen powder: a capability that could change the world
Australiawhich aims to become a green H exporter, has unveiled an affordable system for transporting H powder. An Australian team of researchers has designed a catalytic chemical process capable of quickly and economically converting sodium metaborate into sodium borohydride. He Kotai Hydrogen Projectinvented in the John Curtin Universityaims to reduce the production and transportation costs of H to become the “cheapest means of exporting H.” Australia”.
While one ton of ammonia can be used to produce 178 kg of H, one ton of sodium borohydride generates 213 kg of hydrogen by adding water. The key to this system is that the resulting sodium metaborate can be charged using proprietary electrolysers to make sodium borohydride 20 times more affordable.
Australia has positioned itself as an essential player in the H export market based on public and private investments. The area hopes to be able to generate and export significant amounts of green H internationally by 2030.
Moreover, the country aims to become a natural extraction power. The state of Australia Meridional emerges on a cracktonized block of crust called Gawler Cratonwhose iron and uranium mines produce millions of tons of free H.
Australia holds the key to boosting hydrogen: it would change its place in the world
With this study Australia has taken a step forward on the stage of hydrogen transportconsidered by many as the “fuel of the future”. Their proposal promises to generate an impact on the global energy landscape by developing a safer, cheaper and more efficient way to transport this gas by converting it into powder. The project of Kotai hydrogena collaboration between Curtin University and the company Velox Energy Materialshas found what could be the definitive solution to the hydrogen.
According to the academic center’s website, the head of the HSRG, Professor Craig Buckleywarned that the Kotai Hydrogen Project can have a positive impact on local industry and a crucial step towards net zero emissions: “Our goal is to create a circular value chain from the export of hydrogen.
The initial research component of the project will be incorporated into the commercial phase, where a pilot facility will be designed and constructed Perth to evaluate the technology for large-scale production directly from renewable electricity.”
As the method of hydrogen powder If it were viable on a large scale, it would facilitate its transportation global hydrogen and would open the door to a new phase of energy innovation Australia as an example country. While Japan figures out what will happen to this form of H-transport, Japan manages to ‘hack’ hydrogen and does something unusual: they have been producing it non-stop for 3,000 hours.