Monash University researchers, along with SMU Airrane, the Korean company, believe they have gone on to develop a method so as to more efficiently depend on regular fuel tankers in order to safely store as well as transport hydrogen.
Hydrogen made by way of using renewable energy happens to be critical to industrial decarbonization; however, moving it around safely as well as efficiently happens to be a major hurdle. A lightweight gas, it is indeed costly to store and also transport and often needs extreme pressure or, for that matter, temperatures.
Monash and SMU Airrane, which is a global leader in membrane commercialization, go on to believe that they have come up with a semi-pilot membrane system which can very well overcome these challenges in order to efficiently extract hydrogen from Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs).
The project happens to center around the custom-built membrane and catalyst development so as to extract hydrogen from LOHCs at temperatures that are low – a process which goes on to reduce the expenditure, risks, and also energy of present extraction methods.
It is well to be noted that an early proof-of-concept has already been demonstrated to work at Monash University and is now going to be scaled up as well as tested as per the real-world conditions that are set by the Global Connections Fund – Bridging Grants program run by the Australian Government.
Apparently, when it comes to the pilot hydrogen release system project, it is going to be tested at Monash University and, along with it, at the new Membrane Pilot Facility of CSIRO.
If it is successful, the new method so as to release hydrogen from LOHCs could potentially unlock hydrogen export throughout the shipping routes, thereby making it cheaper for industries, and at the same time also open the door for hydrogen in order to power planes along with cargo ships.
According to the director of the Monash Centre for Membrane Innovation, Professor Matthew Hill, they believe their membrane system indeed happens to be the missing link to the supply chain’s success—a path to cleanly, effectively, and efficiently release hydrogen at the point of use, without having to depend on the intricate high-temperature processes.
He adds that if Australia happens to produce hydrogen by way of using solar power. Rather than liquefying or compressing it, they go ahead and bond the hydrogen to a liquid carrier and send it in regular fuel tankers, the ones that are already made use of in the oil industry. Once the tankers arrive, their system starts the process of unlocking the hydrogen on-site, and thereafter the empty carrier liquid is then returned and reused. It is indeed going to be clean and efficient and would make use of infrastructure that they already possess.
It is well to be noted that the research has drawn on the experience of the liquid natural gas (LNG) industry of Australia, which went on to prioritize the export capability first, in the end leading to more affordable local usage.
Stressing first on export may, as per the researchers, help in building the infrastructure and scale that is required to decrease the expenditure when it comes to local production. Professor Hill adds that they believe this tech can also forge another path when it comes to the growing clean hydrogen industry of Australia.
