Policy Modelling for Ageing in Emerging Economies: The Case of Indonesia. This project, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Indonesian Planning Authority, will support major social and economic policy development in a rapidly ageing region. It will break new ground by developing a cutting-edge economic policy model reflecting salient features of ageing in emerging economies, taking into account the wider implications for education, employment, formalisation, growth, and retirement. It w ....Policy Modelling for Ageing in Emerging Economies: The Case of Indonesia. This project, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Indonesian Planning Authority, will support major social and economic policy development in a rapidly ageing region. It will break new ground by developing a cutting-edge economic policy model reflecting salient features of ageing in emerging economies, taking into account the wider implications for education, employment, formalisation, growth, and retirement. It will bring the armoury of policy analysis instruments available to these countries up to the standard now enjoyed by the developed world. Indonesia, on the brink of major pension reform, will be used as a test bed. Data sets will be developed to allow the model structure to be applied to other emerging economies in Asia. Read moreRead less
Embrittlement-tolerant alloys for safe hydrogen transmission and storage. Hydrogen embrittlement in steels is a major impediment to a safe hydrogen economy. This project will determine how hydrogen affects the deformation behaviour of steel, providing the fundamental information that is required to develop alloys that can be safely used in infrastructure for a future Australian hydrogen industry. We will utilise new technologies that allow us, for the first time, to determine the position of hyd ....Embrittlement-tolerant alloys for safe hydrogen transmission and storage. Hydrogen embrittlement in steels is a major impediment to a safe hydrogen economy. This project will determine how hydrogen affects the deformation behaviour of steel, providing the fundamental information that is required to develop alloys that can be safely used in infrastructure for a future Australian hydrogen industry. We will utilise new technologies that allow us, for the first time, to determine the position of hydrogen atoms around micro-scale features and to compare it to local mechanical behaviour, determined by micro-mechanical tests. The systematic investigation of the effect of hydrogen on different micro-components within steel will allow the development of microstructure-guided alloy design principles.Read moreRead less
Mitigating hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength steels. Hydrogen wreaks havoc in many alloys, leading to embrittlement that can cause catastrophic failure. This is a very serious issue for any industry in which structures are exposed to hydrogen and is a limiting factor for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen in a potential hydrogen economy. However, understanding the behaviour of hydrogen in alloys is restricted by the difficulty of observing it. In this project we will ob ....Mitigating hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength steels. Hydrogen wreaks havoc in many alloys, leading to embrittlement that can cause catastrophic failure. This is a very serious issue for any industry in which structures are exposed to hydrogen and is a limiting factor for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen in a potential hydrogen economy. However, understanding the behaviour of hydrogen in alloys is restricted by the difficulty of observing it. In this project we will obtain accurate 3D maps showing the position of hydrogen atoms in steel by combining deuteration with cryogenic atom probe microscopy. In this way we will will elucidate how a proposed solution, hydrogen trapping, reduces hydrogen embrittlement, contributing to design criteria for hydrogen-resistant steels.Read moreRead less
Silicon-based Anode Materials for Next Generation Lithium-ion Batteries. This project aims to develop low-cost high-performance silicon-based anode materials for next generation high-energy lithium-ion batteries. A cutting-edge in situ reduction and encapsulation technique will be developed to synthesise sub-nanometer silicon nanoparticles homogeneously embedded in graphite matrix. The newly developed silicon-based anode material is expected to deliver high specific capacity and long cycle life. ....Silicon-based Anode Materials for Next Generation Lithium-ion Batteries. This project aims to develop low-cost high-performance silicon-based anode materials for next generation high-energy lithium-ion batteries. A cutting-edge in situ reduction and encapsulation technique will be developed to synthesise sub-nanometer silicon nanoparticles homogeneously embedded in graphite matrix. The newly developed silicon-based anode material is expected to deliver high specific capacity and long cycle life. The novel silicon-based anode materials will boost the energy density of next generation lithium-ion batteries, which will be used to power electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. This project will benefit the industry partner to launch commercial production of silicon-based anode materials for global market. Read moreRead less
Building Australia's Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Infrastructure. This project aims to enhance the resilience, safety, and efficiency of electricity grids operated with fast-charging Electric Vehicles (EVs) by developing new control and optimisation frameworks. This project expects to develop new robust controllers for EV fast-charging infrastructure operated in coordination with wind and solar generated electricity. Expected project outcomes include enabling fast-charge EV infrastructure to b ....Building Australia's Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Infrastructure. This project aims to enhance the resilience, safety, and efficiency of electricity grids operated with fast-charging Electric Vehicles (EVs) by developing new control and optimisation frameworks. This project expects to develop new robust controllers for EV fast-charging infrastructure operated in coordination with wind and solar generated electricity. Expected project outcomes include enabling fast-charge EV infrastructure to be developed and deployed in Australia by the industry partner SwitchDin. Expected benefits including enabling significant reduction in carbon emissions from the transportation sector, accelerating the energy transition to renewables, and placing Australian industry at the forefront of EV grid integration technology.Read moreRead less
Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the h ....Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the health system. The data collected in this project will assist in developing health services to meet these needs.Read moreRead less
Beyond the limits of corrosion detection in inaccessible areas. The project will develop a new technology for medium-range corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas of infrastructure. This will overcome the limitations of existing corrosion inspection techniques for corrosion inspection at inaccessible areas. The project will create a new concept and generate new knowledge on accurate corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas. The expected outcomes are significant improvements in the capability and ....Beyond the limits of corrosion detection in inaccessible areas. The project will develop a new technology for medium-range corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas of infrastructure. This will overcome the limitations of existing corrosion inspection techniques for corrosion inspection at inaccessible areas. The project will create a new concept and generate new knowledge on accurate corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas. The expected outcomes are significant improvements in the capability and practicability over existing corrosion inspection technologies adopted by industry for a wide range of infrastructure, in particular the Oil and Gas, Mining, Energy and Water infrastructure, as well as improving the reliability and cost-efficiency of the corrosion inspection.Read moreRead less
Synthetic storage for improving flexibility and security of micro-grids. This project aims to remove the need for energy storage in micro-grids via adoption of synthetic storage. Micro-grids encounter high renewable energy penetrations early, given their small size. Typically, micro-grid variability is managed with technologies such as energy storage. Synthetic storage involves replacing fixed speed diesel assets with variable speed diesel technology. This project offers a cost-effective way to ....Synthetic storage for improving flexibility and security of micro-grids. This project aims to remove the need for energy storage in micro-grids via adoption of synthetic storage. Micro-grids encounter high renewable energy penetrations early, given their small size. Typically, micro-grid variability is managed with technologies such as energy storage. Synthetic storage involves replacing fixed speed diesel assets with variable speed diesel technology. This project offers a cost-effective way to improve renewable penetration and reduce diesel fuel consumption in micro-grids by removing the need for expensive energy storage. The expected project outcomes include reductions in cost and complexity for high renewable energy penetration micro-grids, reduced emissions and improved micro-grid reliability.Read moreRead less
The infectome of NSW dairy calves, a genomic microbial surveillance . Infectious diseases are the main cause of disease and mortality in calves. The knowledge of the diversity of infectious disease-causing agents in NSW dairy cattle is not comprehensive. Thus, the immediate goal of this proposal is to redress this knowledge gap using untargeted microbial genomic sequencing to characterise and identify known and emerging enteric and respiratory pathogens in dairy calves. We will determine the occ ....The infectome of NSW dairy calves, a genomic microbial surveillance . Infectious diseases are the main cause of disease and mortality in calves. The knowledge of the diversity of infectious disease-causing agents in NSW dairy cattle is not comprehensive. Thus, the immediate goal of this proposal is to redress this knowledge gap using untargeted microbial genomic sequencing to characterise and identify known and emerging enteric and respiratory pathogens in dairy calves. We will determine the occurrence and distribution of their microbial species across all NSW dairy regions. This will enable the Australian dairy industry to improve animal health and productivity, and diagnostic capacity, which will allow farmers to make informed management decisions about disease control strategies. Read moreRead less
Nanostructure engineered low activation superconductors for fusion energy. This project aims to develop a novel, low activation and liquid helium-free superconducting solution with superior electromagnetic, mechanical and thermal properties for use in fusion reactors. Superconducting magnets and their associated cryogenic cooling systems represent a key determinant of thermal efficiency and the construction/operating costs of fusion reactors. The project expects to overcome these barriers so tha ....Nanostructure engineered low activation superconductors for fusion energy. This project aims to develop a novel, low activation and liquid helium-free superconducting solution with superior electromagnetic, mechanical and thermal properties for use in fusion reactors. Superconducting magnets and their associated cryogenic cooling systems represent a key determinant of thermal efficiency and the construction/operating costs of fusion reactors. The project expects to overcome these barriers so that widespread uptake of these reactors becomes viable. Outcomes from the project will include a fundamental understanding of pure and doping-induced isotopic magnesium diboride superconductors and their behaviour under high neutron flux and harsh plasma atmosphere, which are specifically designed for application in next-generation, low-cost fusion reactors.Read moreRead less