Clean Technology Research and Development grants awarded and project summaries
This program supports early stage research and development of innovative technologies, services or processes that will help decarbonise NSW industries.
| Organisation | Project title | Amount $ |
|---|---|---|
| Sundrive Solar | Development of copper-based solar modules for ultra low-cost utility scale deployment | $3,000,000 |
| Hysata | Energy efficient water electrolyser for low-cost green hydrogen | $1,500,000 |
| Southern Green Gas | Solar powered e-kerosene production module for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) | $1,000,000 |
| Quickstep Technologies | Intelligent composite hydrogen storage system | $803,968 |
| 4 projects totalling | $6,303,968 | |
Sundrive Solar
Development of copper-based solar modules for ultra low-cost utility scale deployment
Solar photovoltaics can significantly reduce emissions by replacing fossil fuel electricity sources. However, current modules rely heavily on silver, which presents cost and sustainability risks as solar manufacturing scales globally to terawatt manufacturing levels. Australian company SunDrive have solved this key issue by replacing silver with copper, an approximately 80x cheaper and 1000x more abundant metal, whilst achieving world-record efficiencies, which reduce costs even further. In this project, SunDrive will apply their unique technology to high efficiency bifacial modules which can reduce the cost of Australian electricity from ~ $50 to ~ $35/MWh by 2030.
Hysata
Energy efficient water electrolyser for low-cost green hydrogen
Hysata is developing a new type of water electrolyser that promises to deliver the world's lowest cost 'green' hydrogen. Green hydrogen, made from water using renewable energy, will be vital to achieving 'net-zero' emissions in the global economy. It is estimated that 15-25% of energy in a net-zero global economy, worth >$1 trillion p.a., will be provided by green hydrogen (to decarbonise sectors that cannot use renewable electricity directly, like heavy transport, chemicals and steel). The Hysata electrolyser is highly efficient and has a simple design that makes it cheap to manufacture and easy to scale.
Southern Green Gas
Solar powered e-kerosene production module for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
Southern Green Gas is a next generation renewable energy development company aiming to bring breakthrough technology to the global energy industry. SGG's project to develop a solar powered e-kerosene production module for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) aims to fill an important gap in the decarbonisation strategies for the hard-to-abate aviation sector. SGG's novel approach to carbon neutral fuels involves developing small process modules for low-cost mass manufacture. The e-kerosene module extracts hydrogen (via water) and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and combines them in a reactor to form kerosene in a completely solar powered and renewable process.
Quickstep Technologies
Intelligent composite hydrogen storage system
Develop a carbon fibre filament winder system in New South Wales to build Type IV hydrogen tanks for ground transportation and aviation applications. Our hydrogen storage solution will be based on NSW's Omni tankers carbon fibre tank technology with thermoplastic liner developed for large tanks. We will adapt their filament winder system used for transport of bulk chemicals (very large formats, low pressures) to high pressure (350-750 bar) applications for ground vehicles and small aircrafts. We will integrate advanced sensorisation to identify potential failure modes, predict tank usage life, and design an industrial process to manufacture tanks in large numbers.