Carbon Technology Research Group

The HESC Project is coming to an end and we are pleased with the success of the project. We wish to congratulate everyone involved in such a time-consuming, yet rewarding, project and are honoured to have been involved. Excitingly, we will have ongoing publications based on the project data. For more information, please visit: https://www.hydrogenenergysupplychain.com/. While we have enjoyed sharing our successes with you all on this platform, we wish to advise you that we will be prioritising our LinkedIn engagement and will shift from using this platform from now on. You can visit our website for LinkedIn profiles, recent publications and activities: https://federation.edu.au/ctrg. Thank you for your support on this platform.

Home - HESC Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) A world-first project. The world-first Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project Urgent Emissions Reductions In a commercial phase, HESC will reduce global CO2 emissions by 1.8 million tonnes per year, the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road. Read mo...

Hydrogen fuel and fertiliser from potato waste is being considered as a way to lower costs to farmers. Australian farmers use about 4.9 million tonnes of fertiliser each year and the aim of this research project is to test how biomass can be converted into energy. MADE Energy is working on this research project which is funded by a Commonwealth Business Research and Innovation Initiative grant to make impactful change to how energy is produced. For more information, please visit: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-16/hydrogen-fuel-and-fertiliser-from-humble-potatoes/13060992.

Chips are on the table in rush to create hydrogen fuel and fertiliser from humble potatoes Trials to turn waste from potato farms into fertiliser and energy are underway in a bid to be environmentally friendly and lower heavy costs to farmers.

Hydrogen is continuously being tested for its usefulness in the agricultural industry. An article released in August 2021 explores how hydrogen fuel is shaping the future of agriculture with some vehicles abandoning diesel and hydrogen being used to power generators. Hydrogen fuel cell alternatives could help make farming sustainable. For more information, please visit: https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/hydrogen-fuel-is-shaping-the-future-of-agriculture/.

Hydrogen Fuel is Shaping the Future of Agriculture Farming is one of the world’s most critical industries, but it’s far from sustainable. U.S. agriculture emitted 698 million metric tons of greenhouse...

BloombergNEF has made ten predictions for hydrogen in 2022. With 2021 being a year where hydrogen took the world by storm, they expect 2022 to grow the market and demand for alternative clean energy sources. Interestingly, they predict more hydrogen companies will become public and more than 20 countries will release national hydrogen strategies. For more information, please visit: https://about.bnef.com/blog/hydrogen-10-predictions-for-2022/.

Hydrogen - 10 Predictions for 2022 | BloombergNEF If 2021 was a defining year for clean hydrogen, hold on to your hats for 2022.

The Suiso Frontier departed Hastings and began its journey to Japan on Friday January 28. The HESC team was able to successfully complete all technical, operational and safety aspects for the loading of liquefied hydrogen into the specially built vacuum insulated tank so the required temperature can be maintained throughout the voyage. For more information, please visit: https://www.hydrogenenergysupplychain.com/the-suiso-frontier-departs-australia-for-japan/.

The Suiso Frontier Departs Australia for Japan - HESC HESC Project Partners are proud to announce that in the early evening of Friday 28 January, 2022, the Suiso Frontier serenely sailed out of Hastings for its return journey to the Port of Kobe in Japan. The HESC team were able to test and validate the loading of liquefied hydrogen into the Suiso Fron...

ACI, Omnia and CTRG are working together to promote a full PhD Scholarship plus top-up and generous project costs allowance for the topic ‘Investigation into the parameters of manufacture scale-up and characterization of humic products from the natural weathering of lignites versus tailored humic acid oxidation’. This is a three-year full-time project with a six-month industry placement focusing on optimising production of novel Victorian lignite-derived humic acids to decrease the variability in humic acid with superior performance in agriculture and other industries. Watch this space for more information about where to apply and specific requirements. You can find more interesting research projects and collaborations on our website:

Carbon Technology Research Group Our focus is in providing high-level tailored analytical support for carbon capture and coal to products projects. This core analytical capability underpins further expansion of the centre's research capacity in lab and pilot production activities.

As we shake off the last of the New Year slumber, we wonder if Muthu ever left the lab? We hope you’ve all had an enjoyable start to the year and are excited to join Muthu and the team for another successful year. Welcome back to the lab for 2022.

An exciting moment of history is being made for the HESC project as Australia prepares to transport the world’s first cargo of liquid hydrogen via sea. The Suiso Frontier is the first liquefied hydrogen tanker and is departing from Hastings and heading to Japan, demonstrating the partnership and commitment to decarbonisation central to this project. For more information, please visit: https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/this-ship-is-carrying-australia-s-energy-future-at-minus-253c-20220119-p59pfp. Vince attended the celebratory event and was pleased to note the weather suited the event perfectly.

Vince was interviewed by Paul Strickland on the West Gippsland Week podcast. In the segment ‘Hydrogen and its possibilities’ the pair discussed how hydrogen as an energy source is currently a popular topic of interest. With a focus on the future of hydrogen and energy transformation, discussion turned to commercial uses of brown coal, or lignite, encouraging us to consider how we can improve our standard of living by using a lignite resource in a sustainable way. Hydrogen from brown coal is something we need to manufacture and the interest in hydrogen being an energy store stems from its potential to have a net-zero impact when combined with biomass and CCS. For more information, please visit: https://anchor.fm/paul-e-strickland/episodes/Hydrogen-and-its-possibilities-e1cuct9/a-a781nj7.

Hydrogen and it's possibilities by West Gippsland Week Apart from dramatic old vision of the Hindenberg disaster, and some political talk of hydrogen as our savior fuel, we don't know much about it. In this podcast we talk to Prof Vince Veheyen, an engineer from Federation University Churchill about the element and it's possibilities.

The US Senate advanced a Bipartisan Infrastructure package in August 2021, with significant CCS provisions. This is an important step in the long-term, meaningful climate action. For more information, please visit: https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/news-media/latest-news/us-senate-advances-bipartisan-infrastructure-package-with-significant-provisions-for-ccs/.

US Senate Advances Bipartisan Infrastructure Package with Significant Provisions for CCS - Global CCS Institute The U.S. Senate has advanced the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by a vote of 69-30. The package, which contains significant provisions for carbon capture and storage (CCS), is broadly viewed as an important step in long-term, meaningful climate action from this Congress. The infra...

PhD student Andrew Hood has been working with Omnia Specialities over the course of his higher degree. Employing skills and knowledge gained by exploring soil health, Andrew aided in the publication of the article ‘Pollution to solution- is the key to soil health buried inside brown coal?’ in 2020. This research is a fascinating starting point for their work together and we are excited to see the research to come. Omnia is an exciting partner for us as their work in humates and soil health has the potential to help realise a more sustainable agricultural industry for the future. To access the article, visit: https://federation.edu.au/news/articles/pollution-to-solution-is-the-key-to-soil-health-buried-inside-brown-coal. For more information on Omnia, please visit: https://www.omnia.com.au/.

Omnia Specialities Australia | Keeping Your Crops Healthy Omnia Specialities Australia Is A Leading Manufacturer Of Humate & Fulvate Products.

The UK’s hydrogen strategy will help achieve their net-zero goals by exploring how the government plans to develop a domestic, low-carbon hydrogen sector. Hydrogen could meet up to a third of the nation’s energy needs by 2050. For more information, please visit: https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-how-will-the-uks-hydrogen-strategy-help-achieve-net-zero. The CCC’s annual assessment of UK progress in reducing emissions has been released and all pathways mentioned describe CCS as a critical and cost-effective way to meet the 2050 net-zero target. For more information, please visit: https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/2021-progress-report-to-parliament/.

In-depth Q&A: How will the UK’s hydrogen strategy help achieve net-zero? - Carbon Brief Hydrogen will be “critical” for achieving the UK’s net-zero target and could meet up to...

Canada is an enthusiastic developer of CCUS technologies and has an ambitious strategy for actions that will cement hydrogen and CCUS as a tool to achieve their net-zero emissions goal by 2050. Though this report was released in December 2020, it is evidence that Canada has the potential to be a global industrial leader of clean renewable fuels. For more information, please visit: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/environment/hydrogen/NRCan_Hydrogen-Strategy-Canada-na-en-v3.pdf.

www.nrcan.gc.ca

CSIRO, the Northern Territory Government and industry and engineering companies are developing a path towards rapid emissions reduction across Northern Australia’s energy sector. CSIRO are working with these partners to develop a business case for a large-scale, low emissions Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Hub to reduce emission and be a catalyst for the growth of new, sustainable industries. For more information, please visit: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/News-releases/2021/CSIRO-and-partners-scope-NT-Hub-to-lower-emissions-and-boost-investment.

CSIRO and partners scope NT Hub to lower emissions and boost investment CSIRO has partnered with the Northern Territory Government, industry, and engineering companies to develop a business case for a large-scale low emissions Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Hub.

In line with the sustainable alternatives and pathways for the gas sector, the Victorian Government is looking at promoting the long-term development of a strategic framework for decarbonising natural gas in Victoria. The Gas Substitution Roadmap will detail the pathway and policy mechanisms to reduce emissions targets through reduced fugitive emissions, more efficient use of gas, electrification and increased use of alternative gases such as clean hydrogen and biogas. For more information, please visit: https://engage.vic.gov.au/help-us-build-victorias-gas-substitution-roadmap.

Help Us Build Victoria’s Gas Substitution Roadmap We are seeking input from the community and industry to help transform Victoria’s gas sector and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Merry Christmas from the CTRG team! We hope you have a chance to reset after a hectic year and look forward to sharing our 2022 with you all. Pictured below are some of our animals already relaxing and we cannot wait to join them!

With all the buzz around hydrogen we thought we would create an article with things we consider useful about the element. We explore hydrogen as abundant but needing to be generated through splitting water or using electricity and it's effectiveness in place of battery operated power sources after a decade, amongst other things in this piece. For more information, please visit:

Articles Articles

A Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap has been released by IEA. This goal is something countries around the globe are discussing and the report illustrates mitigation measures to meet these aims, which include: behaviour and avoided demand, energy efficiency, hydrogen-based, electrification, bioenergy, wind and solar, other fuel shifts and CCUS. For more information, please visit: https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050.

Net Zero by 2050 – Analysis - IEA Net Zero by 2050 - Analysis and key findings. A report by the International Energy Agency.

PhD candidate Andrew Hood spoke at the recent Federation University HDR Conference. His project titled ‘Breathing new life into Victorian lignite; from fossil to plant food’ is industry-focused, looking at optimising yields of humic acids for agriculture. Sponsored by Omnia Specialities and Australian Carbon Innovation and working with supervisors Associate Professor Vincent Verheyen, Dr Alicia Reynolds and Dr Teferi Belayneh, he hopes to take results from the lab into the real world. Carbon in soil maintains its structure, allows it to retain water and fertiliser and supports plant microbes. Andrew’s project focuses on lignite/brown coal as a source of humic acids and the ways breaking down the structure of coal can occur when adding more oxygen to optimise the humic acids for better usage within agriculture. Andrew has discovered that throughout this oxidation process, both the physical and chemical properties of the coal undergo some big changes. There is an optimum level of oxidation where most of the insoluble coal has been converted into humates owing to that extra energy, meanwhile waste products are minimised. Please refer to the image below to see how the oxidation process leads to visible changes in the coal samples. Through managing the pH level during testing, Andrew hopes to perform successful, large-scale reactions that can be applicable for the agricultural industry.

CO2CRC CCUS Symposium 2021 is being held from Nov 22 to Nov 24. We are happy to see research supporting the technology which assists the world to achieve net zero targets. The conference aims to bring all sectors of the CCUS community together both online and in-person. This two-day event will provide opportunities to hear from technical experts and participate in workshops and meetings. Although registration has now closed, for more information please visit: http://events.co2crc.com.au/.

Building a low emissions future “The Symposium will bring together all sectors of the CCUS Community, including leaders from research, government, policy and industry both online and in-person”

Kanako (Kana) Nagayama is a J-Power Latrobe Valley engineer who is driven to use her skills to create a cleaner future for younger generations. She looks forward to seeing the fuel of the future being used as a global clean energy source and enjoys the challenge of being responsible for turning Latrobe Valley coal intro hydrogen gas. For more information, please visit: https://hydrogenenergysupplychain.com/engineering-for-a-better-future/?utm_source=HESC%20e-newsletter&utm_campaign=c67163376b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_10_18_01_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_113be07c24-c67163376b-94714204.

Deb Decarli is a Latrobe Valley local who is overseeing the safe production of hydrogen in her hometown. She is a key team member in the HESC Project as she oversees the safe gasification of Latrobe Valley coal. She is passionate about the opportunity for safe, new industry growth in Gippsland. For more information, please visit: https://hydrogenenergysupplychain.com/the-fuel-for-the-future-in-safe-hands/?utm_source=HESC%20e-newsletter&utm_campaign=c67163376b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_10_18_01_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_113be07c24-c67163376b-94714204.

Latrobe Magnesium (LMG), a member of Ash Development Association of Australia (ADAA), is starting construction on a plant that will produce magnesium metal from fly ash. This ash will come from EnergyAustralia’s Latrobe Valley operations mine and the demonstration plant will add to the lowering of carbon emissions as LMG is producing about half as much CO2 as major magnesium producers around the globe. For more information, please visit: https://www.adaa.asn.au/blog/2021/10/lmgs-demonstration-plant-takes-the-lead.

LMG's Demonstration Plant Takes The Lead LMG has begun the construction of its $50 Million magnesium trial plant that will produce magnesium metal from fly ash, coming from EnergyAustralia's Latrobe Valley mine in Victoria (who is also a member of the ADAA).