Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100099
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$290,000.00
Summary
A complete near-field scanning optical microscope for advanced characterisation of novel and functional materials. This near-field optical scanning microscope will be unique in Australia and will substantially enhance national research capabilities in functional materials, nanotechnology, biotechnology and chemistry. It will create a platform to advance Australian research to new levels in pharmaceuticals, nanomaterials and energy storage materials.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989180
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
Facility for studying the sorption properties of gases by nanostructured materials. The climate debate has put the issues that this research will address at the forefront of community concern. All of the initiatives discussed herein are relevant to alternative energy sources and greenhouse gas reduction. The facility will ensure that the research undertaken will be internationally cutting edge and will hasten the adoption of technologies that will flow from the research, thereby reducing the e ....Facility for studying the sorption properties of gases by nanostructured materials. The climate debate has put the issues that this research will address at the forefront of community concern. All of the initiatives discussed herein are relevant to alternative energy sources and greenhouse gas reduction. The facility will ensure that the research undertaken will be internationally cutting edge and will hasten the adoption of technologies that will flow from the research, thereby reducing the effects of the impending energy crisis and related global pollution issues. The current capability for accurately measuring gas sorption in materials for storage and sequestration is limited in W.A. and the proposed facility will address this situation.Read moreRead less
Oxide-based high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are one of the most efficient energy conversion technologies for producing electricity from fuels such as hydrogen and methanol. Current PEMFCs use precious metal catalysts, and the performance of liquid methanol fuel is disappointingly low due to the inability of polymer or hybrid membranes to operate at temperatures above 160-180 degrees centigrade. This work aims to develop an all ox ....Oxide-based high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are one of the most efficient energy conversion technologies for producing electricity from fuels such as hydrogen and methanol. Current PEMFCs use precious metal catalysts, and the performance of liquid methanol fuel is disappointingly low due to the inability of polymer or hybrid membranes to operate at temperatures above 160-180 degrees centigrade. This work aims to develop an all oxide-based PEMFC technology using a recently developed sintered and heteropolyacid functionalised mesoporous silica membrane. The utilisation of all-oxide-PEMFCs using non-precious metal catalysts is expected to significantly enhance the power density, reduce costs, and enhance the commercial viability of PEMFC technologies.Read moreRead less
metal hydride reactors for high temperature thermochemical heat storage. The aim of this project is to develop a laboratory-based prototype for energy storage in concentrating solar power (CSP) systems using metal hydrides as a chemical energy storage medium. The successful development of cost-effective energy storage technologies is expected to dramatically increase the deployability of CSP systems and this, in turn, will greatly enhance our capacity to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The outc ....metal hydride reactors for high temperature thermochemical heat storage. The aim of this project is to develop a laboratory-based prototype for energy storage in concentrating solar power (CSP) systems using metal hydrides as a chemical energy storage medium. The successful development of cost-effective energy storage technologies is expected to dramatically increase the deployability of CSP systems and this, in turn, will greatly enhance our capacity to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The outcomes of the project are planned to be used towards the development of a commercially viable solar thermal energy storage system. The project also plans to conduct fundamental research into the development of new high-temperature metal hydrides suitable for energy storage in CSP systems.Read moreRead less
Concentrating solar thermal energy storage using metal hydrides. This project will investigate energy storage for concentrating solar thermal energy systems. These systems can be used to efficiently generate electricity in remote locations, day and night, using solar energy. The solar energy is converted to heat energy and then chemical energy stored in a metal-hydrogen compound.
New mesoporous materials for use in high temperature proton exchange fuel cell membranes. A novel high temperature proton exchange membrane based on heteropolyacid (HPA) functionalised mesoporous silica will be developed. This research into the fundamental materials science of novel proton exchange membranes is expected to impact significantly on the advancement and commercialisation of portable fuel cell devices.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100051
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Fabrication and characterisation facilities for lithium rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors. The facility, unlike any currently existing in Australia, will help researchers studying electrodes and cells at a high level. It will provide a new path to high-level research performance and will significantly enhance Australia’s research capability to bring new materials/technologies under development closer to application.
Transistor-based sensor technology for fast, reliable and accurate in situ monitoring of recycled wastewater. Water recycling is becoming critical for water supplies worldwide, due to declining natural supplies of fresh water, combined with increasing demand. The greatest community and industry concerns over recycled water are quality assurance and relative cost. Ensuring quality requires monitoring of contaminants, yet no single real-time technology exists to measure the myriad of potential con ....Transistor-based sensor technology for fast, reliable and accurate in situ monitoring of recycled wastewater. Water recycling is becoming critical for water supplies worldwide, due to declining natural supplies of fresh water, combined with increasing demand. The greatest community and industry concerns over recycled water are quality assurance and relative cost. Ensuring quality requires monitoring of contaminants, yet no single real-time technology exists to measure the myriad of potential contaminants. This project will develop technology using AlGaN/GaN-based transistors, sensitised to different contaminants, enabling multi-analyte real-time sensor arrays. In situ monitoring systems based on such arrays will be fast, accurate, reliable, low-cost, and applicable to a broad variety of water recycling projects.Read moreRead less
A thermal battery for dish-Stirling concentrated solar power systems. This project will investigate new high temperature (> 600 degrees Celsius) metal hydrides and carbonates suitable for thermochemical energy storage in dish-Stirling Concentrated Solar Power systems. The intended outcome is to discover cost effective, energy dense materials that are capable of operating over a 30 year life span in a solar power plant. This will enable 24/7 electricity production from renewable sources in a disp ....A thermal battery for dish-Stirling concentrated solar power systems. This project will investigate new high temperature (> 600 degrees Celsius) metal hydrides and carbonates suitable for thermochemical energy storage in dish-Stirling Concentrated Solar Power systems. The intended outcome is to discover cost effective, energy dense materials that are capable of operating over a 30 year life span in a solar power plant. This will enable 24/7 electricity production from renewable sources in a dispatchable solar platform, ideal for remote locations. The successful development of high temperature metal hydrides and carbonates will finally provide an energy storage solution to dish-Stirling Concentrated Solar Power systems, which will greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to produce electricity.Read moreRead less
Helium recovery from liquefied natural gas waste stream using nanoporous mxene materials. The waste streams from many liquefied natural gas (LNG) industries still contains valuable helium, a possible next mineral to sustain our economic growth. This project aims to efficiently separate helium from methane and nitrogen via the layered two dimensional materials. This project will seek to understand the assembling behaviour of these nano-sized Mxene flakes and their molecular sieving properties. Au ....Helium recovery from liquefied natural gas waste stream using nanoporous mxene materials. The waste streams from many liquefied natural gas (LNG) industries still contains valuable helium, a possible next mineral to sustain our economic growth. This project aims to efficiently separate helium from methane and nitrogen via the layered two dimensional materials. This project will seek to understand the assembling behaviour of these nano-sized Mxene flakes and their molecular sieving properties. Australia is playing a leading role in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and trade. This project expects to further position Australia at the forefront of intellectual leadership in the field of gas processing and material development. This will have significant benefits, such as further improving these LNG projects economics by cost-effectively producing helium as a valuable by-product via advanced porous nano-materials.Read moreRead less