Mobile hydrogen generator to be built in Australia

Australia's national research agency CSIRO is to build the country's first movable hydrogen generator for off-grid power and hydrogen refuelling applications.

The project, supported by a $10 million (US$6.5 million) investment over six years from research and innovation provider Advanced Carbon Engineering, will utilise the CSIRO's patented technology in what is intended as an easily deployed device to produce hydrogen directly from liquid carriers at the point of consumption at off-grid locations.

In the first phase, the scientists intend to build a pilot-scale generator of about 1m x 2m in size able to sit on a bench with a production of 5kg of hydrogen per day.

Then the plan is to scale up to a demonstration unit, which is expected to be the size of a standard 12m shipping container, with a production of 20kg of hydrogen per day.

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CSIRO's Deputy Hydrogen Industry Mission Lead, Dr Vicky Au, says the project addresses some of the key challenges to the growth of the hydrogen sector.

"To get the hydrogen industry moving, we need to be able to get hydrogen where it will be used by the consumer. This generator unit will do just that and will be compact enough to move to where it's needed – whether that's a farm, a festival, an industrial facility or a mine site."

The core of the development is CSIRO's patented catalytic static mixer, which is designed to optimally mix fluids to speed up and better control chemical reactions.

The CSIRO's mixer is a 3D-printed scaffold with a catalyst coating that fits into standard pipes. As the hydrogenated liquid carrier flows through and around the mixer, the catalyst removes the hydrogen from it, which form bubbles of hydrogen gas.

The liquid carriers are chemicals such as methanol, toluene or benzyl toluene that can absorb and release hydrogen through chemical reactions, and can be safely stored in a similar way to fuels such as diesel or petrol.

After use, the liquid carrier would be returned for hydrogenation at a location of larger-scale hydrogen production, to enable its reuse.

The CSIRO envisages the hydrogen generator to be suitable for delivering off-grid power supply as a replacement for some diesel generators and for hydrogen refuelling stations for hydrogen-powered cars.

As a replacement for diesel generators, a hydrogen generator would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycle is emission-free.

The project is being delivered as a part of CSIRO's Hydrogen Industry Mission, which is dedicated to supporting global decarbonisation through the development of a commercially viable Australian hydrogen industry.