Bubble-Free Capillary Water Electrolysis: A New Approach to Industrial Water Electrolysis and Reflections on Commercialisation of Technological Innovations

Hydrogen Links – Industry Focused Academic Research 

Webinar series by HSA

with the support of Academic and Industry Collaborators

Webinar Info…

Topic: Bubble-Free Capillary Electrolysis – A new approach to industrial water electrolysis and Reflections on Commercialisation of Technological Innovations

This hybrid event will be diffused online and in-person with laboratory tours at the in-person session.

Recordings of past Hydrogen Links Sessions can be found in the video section of the HSA Knowledge Portal. 

About the topic:

Renewable, or green, hydrogen will play a critical role in the future decarbonization of our economy, particularly of the so-called ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors like heavy transport, steel, chemicals, and aviation. However, renewable hydrogen is presently not cost-competitive with fossil fuels due to the poor energy efficiency of state-of-the-art commercial water electrolysers. This presentation will describe a remarkable new technology that promises to deliver cost-competitive renewable hydrogen in the near future. The technology employs an electrochemical cell architecture in which water is fed by capillary action to the electrodes, allowing for direct production of hydrogen without the formation of gas bubbles. ‘Bubble-free’ water electrolysers of this type demonstrate efficiencies of ≥95%, equating to an energy consumption of 41.5 kWh per kg hydrogen (vs. 50-53 kWh/kg by present-day commercial electrolysers). This exceeds the target of the International Renewable Energy Agency for the year 2050. The commercialisation of such technological innovations will also be reflected upon. The demand for cost-competitive green hydrogen is such that the company developing this new technology, Hysata Pty Ltd, already has an order book of more than $5 billion.

Program:

• 11:45am AEDT: Arrival and Networking [in-person]
• 12:00pm AEDT: Lecture room opens [in person] and Zoom meeting opens [online]
• 12:10 – 01:00pm AEDT: Presentations and QnA withProf. Gerry Swiegers [in-person and online]
• 12:00pm AEDT: Arrival and Networking [in-person]
• 01:00 – 02:00pm AEDT: Networking and Lunch [in-person]
• 02:00pm – 3:00pm AEDT: Laboratory Tours [in-person]

Please be aware that for safety reasons fully enclosed shoes must be worn for laboratory tours.

Presenter:

Prof. Gerry Swiegers, University of Wollongong, CTO at Hysata

Gerhard (Gerry) F. Swiegers is an Australian Research Council Industry Laureate Fellow at the University of Wollongong. He received a PhD in 1991 from the University of Connecticut in the USA. Following Post-Doctoral work at the Australian National University, he joined the University of Wollongong in 1995. During 1998-2009 he was a Principal Research Scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). In 2010, he returned to the University of Wollongong, specializing in the commercialization of fundamental research and bridging the academia-to-industry gap. Professor Swiegers has founded 7 spin-off companies and licensed or sold 3 new technologies in the last 20 years. His commercialization activities have attracted an estimated $150 million in private investment thus far, and numerous awards, including two DuPont Innovation awards. He has published 2 scholarly books, 147 peer-reviewed scientific papers/chapters, and 60 patent families, comprising 366 individual patent applications. He has participated in $24.5 million of competitive grant funding. His inventions have found use in the pharmaceutical, apparel, casino chip, agricultural, automobile, energy, and other industries.

Next Month’s Webinar info… Announcement coming soon.

About this webinar series…

With successful initiatives engaging Researchers, Industry, and Hydrogen Tech. Developers, HSA is striving to bridge the gap between industry and academia further. Launched in May 2023, Hydrogen Links delivers Industry Focused Academic Research presentations online worldwide and in-person at research institutions and laboratories across Australia. This presentation series aims to raise the level of industry awareness and expertise of the cutting-edge hydrogen research taking place in Australia, as well as propel relationships between Industry Players and Academia Members within Australia’s hydrogen ecosystem.

Join us monthly online as prominent Australian academics will be invited to provide an overview of their research area(s) (20-30 mins), its role across the hydrogen ecosystem (ie. hydrogen production, storage, and utilization), followed by an industry focussed Q&A (30 mins). Join in-person to also take part in networking sessions and get in-depth insights into the research development through laboratory and facilities tours.  

Find out more here: Hydrogen Links – Industry Focused Academic Research