Australia is in it all and, not wanting to be left out, it is developing a never-before-seen idea that will change the way hydrogen is transported forever. It will simplify the process, reduce costs, is that possible? With this, Australia wants to position itself as one of the powers in the world hydrogen exports.
It turns out that it is known that one of the main problems of hydrogen is its transportation, as it is a flammable gas that is very difficult to process in large quantities. All methods that exist today are expensive and difficult. Now, however, Australia has emerged with a shocking idea that promises the solution.
The big problem for countries to transport hydrogen
Although this is a very important and useful gas for many things, its biggest disadvantage is that it is difficult to transport. Nowadays there are some ways to transport, but they all have a problem.
Australia brought the hydrogen by seavia specialized ships that transport liquid hydrogen. However, other countries use refrigerated ships to transport ammonia and other liquid organic carriers, which then release the hydrogen through chemical reactions.
Therefore, a solution for this problem has emerged, Australia is developing a way to transport hydrogen in powder form.
An incredible solution: hydrogen powder
A Curtin University project called Kotai Hydrogen Projectwhich partners with Velox Energy Materials, has received $5 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), to implement this idea.
This project will use a hydrogen production and transport method developed by Curtin’s Hydrogen Storage Research Group in a pilot facility to be built in Perth.
This is designed with the aim of reducing the production and transport costs of hydrogen, becoming the most economical way to export hydrogen from Australia.
The way they will do this is with a catalytic chemical process that converts sodium metaborate back into sodium borohydride. All this in the simplest and most importantly cheap way.
What the experts working on this Australian project say
“The initial research component of the project will feed into the commercial phase, where a pilot facility will be designed and built in Perth to evaluate the technology for large-scale production directly from renewable electricity,” the professor explains. Craig Buckley what is the jefe of the Hydrogen Storage Research Group.
They claim this technology would allow them to fully meet Australia’s global hydrogen demand. Actually the teacher Peta Ashworth, director of the Curtin Institute for the Energy Transitionexpressed:
“Having been involved in the early development of Australia’s hydrogen strategy, it is fantastic to see Australia playing a major role in realizing that endeavor through this Curtin-funded research.”
Finally the ARENA CEO Darren Millersaid: “We support Australian technology innovation that helps build our clean industries and underpins our ambitions to become a renewable energy superpower.”
He further said: “Through our strategic priorities, we have highlighted the importance of renewable hydrogen and low-emission metals which are emerging as a key export industry. “Innovation starts in the laboratory and we have the brightest minds to take our efforts to take carbon emissions to the next level, benefiting all Australians through jobs, lower emissions and cheaper energy.”