This report is the deliverable for Milestone 2.2.2 of the FEnEx CRC’s Commonwealth Grant Agreement. The report outlines technical details for hydrogen production via electrolysis as well as general requirements for development of export-scale green hydrogen production in Australia. Key to export-scale capacity in Australia is the provision of new, or modification of existing, infrastructure to meet ambitions for this emergent energy sector. Guidelines relevant to this infrastructure development for existing commercial scale hydrogen or hydrogen carriers are considered.
Technical comparisons of commercial electrolysis processes for hydrogen production are provided along with examples of large-scale installations, both existing and emerging. Innovative eleectrolysis processes, for example to directly produce hydrogen carriers such as methylcyclohexane or syngas, are also detailed. While these alternative electrolysis paths to hydrogen carriers demonstrate high production efficiency, they are nascent and their scale up path(s) are in development. Nevertheless, Australian energy producers with high demand for greenhouse gas emissions reduction should consider these innovations in future business models.
This review of existing electrolyser production of hydrogen considered both peer-reviewed journals and the less explicit grey literature including media releases and website content by commercial entities. The review period predominantly extends over the past five years up to July 2023 with some updates of emerging work to March 2024. Readers are encouraged to engage with the list of references cited in this report in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of this rapidly evolving field. The breadth and depth of current activity in this field precludes a definitive compilation of all inventions and innovations related to electrochemical methods for hydrogen production and/or emissions reduction. Hence, this report is aimed at a summative description of the technologies – commercial and emerging – for Australian entities to consider as part of the strategic planning for a future energy transition.
Authors
- Dr Mahboobeh Shahbazi, Queensland University of Technology
- Dr Jonathan Love, Central Queensland University
- Prof. Ian Mackinnon, Queensland University of Technology
- Dr Tristram Jenkins, Queensland University of Technology
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