Push for hydrogen fuels continues

7 July 2010

As oil supplies dwindle and climate change drives research into sustainable and renewable energy sources, the world is looking to scientists to provide the alternatives.

At the Australian Research Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science researchers are developing new materials and processes that could help the world move to carbon neutral, renewable-energy economies.

PhD student Aleksey Izgorodin works under the supervision of Federation Fellow Professor Doug MacFarlane chief investigator at the Clayton-based centre.

Aleksey holds a masters degree in electronics and microelectronics from Ivanovo University of Chemistry and Technology in Russia. He is working on generating hydrogen fuel through solar-powered water splitting.

Scientists believe that an economy that uses hydrogen as its main fuel source will become more viable as carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes provide a source of funding for alternate technologies.

"The rapid arrival of climate change makes the switch to fuel and power sources that do not pollute much more urgent. Hydrogen is carbon netural and renewable. It can be burnt in a car engine like petrol or gas or it can be used in a fuel cell to convert energy to current and drive an electric motor. As well as portable energy, hydrogen has the potential to power big stationary energy plants," Aleksey said.

The centre at Monash studies electroactive materials and their applications. One very promising area involves the use of conductive plastics, similar to the polymers used in bank notes, creating the possibility of low cost fuel cells and solar cells.

The fuel cell breakthrough makes it possible to replace platinum, which acts as the catalyst between hydrogen and oxygen in fuel cell technology.

Aleksey's interest is in using solar energy to power the process that separates hydrogen and oxygen. The energy to split water is currently sourced from fossil fuels.

"We are working in Melbourne on very exciting developments in solar cells and fuel cells which have the potential to create reasonably-priced, renewable energy sources."

According to Professor MacFarlane the replacement of platinum catalyst in the fuel cell "air electrode" with an inexpensive plastic material is the most important development in fuel cell technology in 20 years and makes the development of reasonably priced, pollution-free electric cars possible in the near future.

Related developments in polymer technology are creating dye-sensitised solar cells with a three-fold increase in energy conversion efficiency, compared with previous models.

The multi-disciplinary centre has links to the CSIRO, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, the Victorian government and industry partners.