Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by th ....Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by the optimization of materials and device design. The outcome will open up a new platform for the green and sustainable charge for portable microelectronics, which will lead to an innovative technology for energy management, which will place Australia at the forefront of wearable electronics and textile industry.Read moreRead less
Removing Seabirds From The Otterboard Trawler Danger Zone.
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
The conservation status of seabirds means that any level of interaction is of serious concern. The only known mitigation strategy known to reduce interactions to almost zero is to not discard biological material (discards and offal) while fishing gear is in the water. In late March AFMA advised industry that vessels fishing south of 38.00 (the Victorian southern coast) would not be able to discard biological material while fishing. This regulation is to be rolled out in two phases starting ....The conservation status of seabirds means that any level of interaction is of serious concern. The only known mitigation strategy known to reduce interactions to almost zero is to not discard biological material (discards and offal) while fishing gear is in the water. In late March AFMA advised industry that vessels fishing south of 38.00 (the Victorian southern coast) would not be able to discard biological material while fishing. This regulation is to be rolled out in two phases starting executed in July and September 2019. AFMA contend that this will reduce catches on impacted (southern) trawlers by 20% but SETFIA believes that this might be up to 40%. AFMA and SETFIA agree that the SETF's revenue will reduce by $6-12m from $40m to $28-34m in its current form. Additional AFMA management costs associated with seabird mitigation will bring 2019/20 levies to $3m which will be 9-11% of revenue. SETFIA and AFMA have agreed that in principle exemptions can be granted IF vessels can prove that seabirds are no longer attracted to the area where trawl warps enter the water (the "danger" zone). The purpose of this urgent application is to seek emergency funding to fund innovation around how trawl vessels might stop birds from entering this danger zone. Without a solution it is likely that given the increase in levies of $0.5-1.0m and decrease in revenue, many southern trawl vessel operations will cease to be profitable and leave the fishery. Further, small New Zealand trawlers are not subject to any seabird mitigations; this fleet is the main competitor to SETF sales. As vessels exit the fishery the levy base will be spread across remaining vessels and the fishery may be reach a tipping point in which it collapses. The SETF is the major supplier of local finfish to the Sydney and Melbourne fish markets and it the largest Commonwealth managed finfish fishery in Australia. Objectives: 1. Development of strategies to remove seabirds from the danger zone (between trawl warps and the water), i.e. achieve exemptions from the "no biological material discharge while fishing" rule 2. When successful distribute these strategies to other trawl fishers allowing them to duplicate them where possible Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101151
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$454,532.00
Summary
Harnessing social norms to find a socially acceptable energy transition. This project aims to discover the potential of social norms to enable energy-producing communities to explore and define a socially acceptable energy transition. By implementing and evaluating a new social norm change intervention in the Upper Hunter region, this project expects to generate new knowledge about what matters most to communities facing transition, and how norms, identities, and networks interact to enable or c ....Harnessing social norms to find a socially acceptable energy transition. This project aims to discover the potential of social norms to enable energy-producing communities to explore and define a socially acceptable energy transition. By implementing and evaluating a new social norm change intervention in the Upper Hunter region, this project expects to generate new knowledge about what matters most to communities facing transition, and how norms, identities, and networks interact to enable or constrain change. Outcomes include direct input to energy transition planning, enhanced collaboration with policy and civil society, and new international research networks. This should provide significant benefits by helping Australian communities and policy-makers navigate the local impacts of global energy transition.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH230100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality. This Hub aims to develop sustainable zero-emission power generation technologies to transform gaseous waste (mainly CO2) from our energy and manufacturing sectors into valuable products and create scalable pathways to market for driving industry transformation. This Hub expects to harvest renewable energy from the environment by using zero-emission power generators and then store it in green and safer batteries for convert ....ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality. This Hub aims to develop sustainable zero-emission power generation technologies to transform gaseous waste (mainly CO2) from our energy and manufacturing sectors into valuable products and create scalable pathways to market for driving industry transformation. This Hub expects to harvest renewable energy from the environment by using zero-emission power generators and then store it in green and safer batteries for converting gaseous waste from sectors that cannot easily avoid emission into useful chemicals, which in turn realize carbon neutrality and negativity. The outcomes of this Hub are likely to be transformative for industry, the economy, and society in new-type renewable energy resources through decreasing environmental pollutants. Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH220100012
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Carbon Utilisation and Recycling. This Research Hub aims to develop technologies to transform carbon dioxide emissions from our energy and manufacturing sectors into valuable products and create pathways to market to drive industry transformation. This hub aims to achieve this by developing novel electro, thermo, and biochemical methods for converting CO2 from sectors that cannot easily avoid emissions and a technological pathway for CO2 recycling. The outcomes of this Hub a ....ARC Research Hub for Carbon Utilisation and Recycling. This Research Hub aims to develop technologies to transform carbon dioxide emissions from our energy and manufacturing sectors into valuable products and create pathways to market to drive industry transformation. This hub aims to achieve this by developing novel electro, thermo, and biochemical methods for converting CO2 from sectors that cannot easily avoid emissions and a technological pathway for CO2 recycling. The outcomes of this Hub are likely to be transformative for industry, the economy, and society in moving the fate of CO2 from pollutant to feedstock. The benefits to Australia are intended to be the stimulation of a new industry, a skilled workforce for this emerging industry and a contribution to meeting CO2 reduction targets.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100326
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,231.00
Summary
Mass transfer enhancement for hydrate based carbon capture and cold storage. This project aims to generate the knowledge and techniques required to increase carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake in hydrate based carbon capture from current levels of 15.4% to up to 90% of its rated capacity. This marked improvement stems from identification of the mechanism of CO2-water mass transfer in CO2 hydrate formation and engineering of structurally modified porous hydrogels as the substrate of CO2 hydrates. Encapsu ....Mass transfer enhancement for hydrate based carbon capture and cold storage. This project aims to generate the knowledge and techniques required to increase carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake in hydrate based carbon capture from current levels of 15.4% to up to 90% of its rated capacity. This marked improvement stems from identification of the mechanism of CO2-water mass transfer in CO2 hydrate formation and engineering of structurally modified porous hydrogels as the substrate of CO2 hydrates. Encapsulation will be developed in a way that CO2 may be transported by CO2 hydrates in a concentrated form. Successful completion of the project will offer technical evaluation of a novel CO2 capture and transport solution with lower operational energy consumption and capital cost than incumbent carbon capture technologies.Read moreRead less
High activity catalysts for CO2 recycling to valuable chemical products. This proposal targets the development of novel porous solid catalysts, containing highly dispersed metal clusters that provide exceptional activity for the conversion (recycling) of carbon dioxide to fuels and other higher value chemical products. These novel materials will improve the productivity and/or reduce the energy required to facilitate the CO2 conversion, thereby reducing costs for industry, whilst also providing ....High activity catalysts for CO2 recycling to valuable chemical products. This proposal targets the development of novel porous solid catalysts, containing highly dispersed metal clusters that provide exceptional activity for the conversion (recycling) of carbon dioxide to fuels and other higher value chemical products. These novel materials will improve the productivity and/or reduce the energy required to facilitate the CO2 conversion, thereby reducing costs for industry, whilst also providing environmental benefit by carbon dioxide utilisation.Read moreRead less
Ship response under corrosion, fatigue and complex sea-state environments. This project will improve understanding of the gradual deterioration of ships and maritime structures subject to metal corrosion, fatigue and extreme sea-state conditions. Increasingly such understanding is necessary for optimal asset management decisions. These include the potential economic, personnel and other risks involved for ship owners and operators, including the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The project will use ....Ship response under corrosion, fatigue and complex sea-state environments. This project will improve understanding of the gradual deterioration of ships and maritime structures subject to metal corrosion, fatigue and extreme sea-state conditions. Increasingly such understanding is necessary for optimal asset management decisions. These include the potential economic, personnel and other risks involved for ship owners and operators, including the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The project will use numerical simulation. It will tackle the Fluid-Structure Interaction problem of ships in waves by integrating Finite Element structural response analysis with cutting-edge Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics methods. The outcomes will provide new insight into remaining asset life and for exploring optimal maintenance strategiesRead moreRead less
Examining The Potential Impacts Of Seismic Surveys On Octopus And Larval Stages Of Southern Rock Lobster
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$669,770.00
Summary
CGG has NOPSEMA approval for a 3D seismic survey in the Gippsland Basin to commence in early 2020. This survey overlaps the Victorian shelter-pot octopus fishery off Lakes Entrance. This overlap has raised concerns from the fishing industry about the potential impacts to octopus and the fishers. Tank-based experiments simulating seismic exposure have resulted in high levels of damage in several species of octopus, however, it is unclear how experiments conducted in tanks translate into the field ....CGG has NOPSEMA approval for a 3D seismic survey in the Gippsland Basin to commence in early 2020. This survey overlaps the Victorian shelter-pot octopus fishery off Lakes Entrance. This overlap has raised concerns from the fishing industry about the potential impacts to octopus and the fishers. Tank-based experiments simulating seismic exposure have resulted in high levels of damage in several species of octopus, however, it is unclear how experiments conducted in tanks translate into the field. Field-based seismic experiments have rarely been conducted on invertebrates, with no such studies conducted on octopus. However, the benthic and relatively sessile habit of octopus leaves them potentially vulnerable to impacts, as they have limited capacity to avoid the waterborne and ground-borne energy of seismic signals. CCG has agreed to provide funds to fill the knowledge gap surrounding the potential impact of seismic surveying on octopus and to do this in conjunction with a commercial scale seismic survey, with the lack of a full array often a perceived limitation of seismic research. CGG has also agreed to value add to the work around octopus. This opportunity allows for the potential impact of seismic surveying on larval forms to be examined, with some concerns around localised depletion of larvae of commercially and ecologically important species, such as southern rock lobster and commercial scallops. This project will use a field and laboratory experimental approach to provide a thorough assessment of the potential impacts of seismic surveys on octopus pallidus and its catches, along with rock lobster larvae and other important larvae. These approaches may assist fisheries and petroleum regulators to make informed decisions on the timing and manner in which future surveys are performed. Importantly, along with that of CGG, it has the support of the Victorian Fisheries Authority, who have also offered in-kind support, the two octopus fishers in the region, the Lakes Entrance Fishermen’s co-op, the sustainable shark fishing association and Southern Rock Lobster Inc. Objectives: 1. Determine the impact of intense low frequency acoustic signals on adult pale octopus (Octopus pallidus) 2. Determine the impact of intense low frequency acoustic signals on the development of eggs, hatching rates and competency of the resultant hatchlings. 3. Outline threshold distances for potential impacts of seismic surveying 4. Determine the impact of intense low frequency acoustic signals on pale octopus (Octopus pallidus) catch. 5. Determine the impact of intense low frequency seismic signals on the pueruli of southern rock lobsters. 6. Determine the impact of intense low frequency seismic signals on important planktonic larvae, particularly crustaceans and molluscs. Read moreRead less
Kinematica: Inference-Based Rapid Resource Exploration Scenario Testing. This project aims to build a new workflow for improving resource exploration evaluation by Australian companies and applied to three practical industry cases in frontier basins. The expected outcomes of this proposal are: detailed risk analysis of oil and gas prospectivity in frontier basins onshore and offshore Australia; a new strategic collaboration between Australian industry, government and universities; students train ....Kinematica: Inference-Based Rapid Resource Exploration Scenario Testing. This project aims to build a new workflow for improving resource exploration evaluation by Australian companies and applied to three practical industry cases in frontier basins. The expected outcomes of this proposal are: detailed risk analysis of oil and gas prospectivity in frontier basins onshore and offshore Australia; a new strategic collaboration between Australian industry, government and universities; students trained in advanced computational methods suitable for the evolving Australian oil and gas industry; and a software product that has high commericalisation potential. The project will transfer knowledge from European industry and universities to Australia and has applications for mineral prospectivity in sedimentary basins. Read moreRead less