Grants to address Australia's green fuel needs

Four teams led by University of Sydney academics have been awarded grants to partner with industry to deliver research-backed, real-world solutions to national challenges as part of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Linkage Projects scheme.

Two of the project teams will address solutions to progress Australia’s move to greener fuels, while the other two teams plan to improve the lives of frontline workers and tackle wage theft.

Project 1: Turning CO₂ into green energy

The goal of this project is to develop nanostructured catalysts and a catalytic process for converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) into synthetic methane, a green fuel produced through selective hydrogenation with green hydrogen. This strategy targets the production of green synthetic methane while using Australia’s current liquefied natural gas infrastructure and transportation network to efficiently deliver green fuels to domestic and global markets.

Success in this project could revolutionise green fuel manufacturing and contribute to advancing Australia’s carbon neutrality objectives. Ultimately, this project holds the potential to drive a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources across the nation.

Research lead is Professor Jun Huang, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering; Sydney Nano Institute; Net Zero Institute; Sydney Southeast Asia Centre; Sydney Environment Institute. Industry partners include Seagull Cooling Technologies Asia Pacific and Jneutech Pty Ltd.

Project 2: Designing new materials for hydrogen fuel systems

Addressing hydrogen embrittlement (HE), which causes unpredictable fractures in metallic materials, has become a critical priority for safe hydrogen storage, transport and use. This project aims to advance the fundamental understanding of the HE mechanism and resolve conflicts in existing theories based on recent breakthroughs. Advanced microscopy methodologies will be developed to achieve multi-scale characterisation of the materials, focusing on crack initiation and propagation, and lattice defect–hydrogen interactions.

This project aims to design new HE-resistant, high-strength martensitic steels using a mechanism-based, simulation-guided alloy design approach.

Research lead is Professor Simon Ringer, School of Aerospace, Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering; Net Zero Institute. Industry partners include Kobe Steel and Carl Zeiss.

“The ARC Linkage scheme recognises the power of collaboration between researchers and the end users of their research in government, industry or the community to address the challenges facing Australia and the world,” said Professor Julie Cairney, interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).

“These four projects will be crucial to Australia’s transition to green fuels, and to better outcomes for Australian workers, demonstrating The University of Sydney’s commitment to research that contributes to the common good.”

For further details about the four projects, visit the university website.

Image caption: H₂ Hydrogen Molecule Fuel Cell Element (for illustrative purposes only). Image credit: iStock.com/Just_Super