A project designed to extract green hydrogen from untreated water at a significantly cheaper rate has topped the Curtinnovation awards.
A project designed to extract green hydrogen from untreated water at a significantly cheaper rate has topped the Curtinnovation awards.
Curtin University Professor Zongping Shao and PhD candidate Jiayi Tang received the highest prize at this year’s awards for their water electrolysis method on unpurified sources, including seawater.
The method uses an alternative catalyst that costs one tenth of the existing process and could produce green hydrogen at 60 per cent of the current cost, according to Curtin University.
The water electrolysis method also took home the Griffith Hack Overall Winner.
According to the award brief, the method could offer up to a 38 per cent cost saving in hydrogen production.
“The two existing methods for extracting hydrogen from water have their limitations: one process requires ultrapure water and an expensive catalyst, the other requires significantly higher energy inputs for the same level of hydrogen production,” the brief said.
“This exciting development could be a cost effective, plentiful source of hydrogen that contributes to the achievement of global zero carbon goals.”
Curtin University research deputy vice-chancellor Melinda Fitzgerald said the project focused on solving energy needs of the future amid an intensification in the global call for decarbonisation.
“I look forward to following Professor Shao and Ms Tang, along with all the Curtinnovation teams as they continue their journeys towards commercialisation of their fantastic innovations,” she said.
“This year’s field of finalists was incredibly impressive, and I want to congratulate all of them for their outstanding work in trying to solve some of the world’s most difficult challenges.”
There were 10 winners at this year’s Curtinnovation Awards:
- Griffith Hack Overall Winner - Green Hydrogen: an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen from untreated water
Team: Professor Zongping Shao and Ms Jiayi Tang
- Business & Law Award - Curtin ANI Research: An automated self-service market research solution for SMES
Team: Professor Billy Sung, Dr Sean Lee.
- Curtin Entrepreneurs Award - Tempo: A two-sided marketplace for health providers and health professionals
Team: Ms Nicola Cuthbert
- Health Sciences Award - MYLO: A novel mental health chatbot
Team: Professor Warren Mansell, Ms Aimee-Rose Wrightson-Hester, Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt, Mr Joel Dunstan, Mx Georgia Anderson
- Humanities Award - Marri Gum Dye: a natural dye extract from the Western Australian Marri gum
Team: Ms Helen Coleman
- International Award - Pine-sense: A new AI-driven model to predict pineapple quality based on skin colours
Team: Dr Christine Yeo Wan Sieng, Mr Eric Chua Yong Hong (Curtin Malaysia)
- Learning & Teaching Award - Elucidate Education: a not-for-profit education platform
Team: Mr Christian Bien, Mr Jack Anderson, Mr Patrick Catambay, Ms Hannah Knight, Mr Ben Whitten
- Science & Engineering Award - Space Domain Awareness: a deployable sensor system
Team: Associate Professor Randall Wayth, Ms Emmaline Yearsley, Mr Jake Jones, Ms Aoife Stapleton, Ms Mia Walker, Mr Luke Verduyn
- Student Award - MacroMop: Enhanced immune cells to remove diseased tissue
Team: Ms Melissa Eccles, Dr Benjamin Dwyer, Associate Professor Giuseppe Verdile
- Trailblazer Award - Hydrobe®: a scalable carbon capture process
Team: Mr Brent Bonadeo (Co-Founder and Executive Director, Hydrobe), Mr Duncan Anderson (Chair, Hydrobe), Mr Jaco Zandberg (Head of Research & Development, Hydrobe), Dr Nadia Leinecker, Dr Milinkumar Shah, Dr Sufia Hena, Associate Professor Tejas Bhatelia.
