CSIRO sets green hydrogen automation startup 

The CSIRO and Sydney headquarters RFC Ambrian have co-established Hadean Energy to propel the improvement of the CSIRO’s cylindrical solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) innovation. It said the tech could altogether diminish hydrogen creation costs and assist with carbonising a heavy industry. 

Lead scientist on hydrogen research at CSIRO, Dr Sarb Giddey said, “CSIRO’s SOE technology has the potential to produce hydrogen at a higher efficiency and lower cost for integration with industrial processes.” 

CSIRO’s tubular solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) innovation efficiently creates hydrogen by electrolysis water utilising a mix of intensity and power, and vows to fundamentally lessen hydrogen creation expenses and industry outflows through process efficiencies. 

“It’s great news for industry, because integrating the hydrogen product back into industrial processes onsite also eliminates storage and transport costs while drastically reducing the use of fossil fuels in the industrial process,” said Giddey. 

BlueScope CEO Australian Steel Products Tania Archibald said BlueScope upheld the preliminary task as it lines up with the organisation’s sustainability goals. 

“SOE has the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of hydrogen for low emissions’ steelmaking. The improved efficiency of SOE systems reduces energy consumption and reduces the electrical infrastructure required by electrolysis,” Archibald added. 

The trial with BlueScope will start in April 2024. The CSIRO expressed discoveries from the preliminary will assist with exhibiting the innovation at a higher scale and affirm the specialised robustness of the gear. Hadean Energy will have elite privileges over the SOE innovation. 

While SOE is the most efficient method of electrolysis, green hydrogen and synthetic fuels will remain uneconomic unless we address the scalability and cost of electrolytes. CSIRO’s tubular SOE technology represents a step change improvement across these metrics,” said RFC Ambrian Chief Investment Officer, Stefan Skorut.