Computational approaches to selection and design of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells and solar cell technologies are beginning to use ionic liquids/plastic crystals as electrolytes due to their superb stability and valuable properties. As a broad class these ionic materials have only been known for the last 10 years or so and there is much to learn about their structure and properties. The project will develop and advance quantum chemical techniques for selection and design of ion ....Computational approaches to selection and design of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells and solar cell technologies are beginning to use ionic liquids/plastic crystals as electrolytes due to their superb stability and valuable properties. As a broad class these ionic materials have only been known for the last 10 years or so and there is much to learn about their structure and properties. The project will develop and advance quantum chemical techniques for selection and design of ionic materials with the goal of developing electrolytes for a range of applications from advanced metal batteries, solar cells to fuel cells. These applications will have impact on energy efficiency and energy conservation by enabling CO2 replacing technologies. Read moreRead less
Fully ab initio, large-scale calculations of thermodynamic and transport properties of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells, and photonic device technologies are beginning to use ionic materials as electrolytes due to their superb stability and technologically valuable properties. As a broad class these materials have only been known for just over a decade and there is still more unknown than known about their structure and properties. The project will develop new advanced computation ....Fully ab initio, large-scale calculations of thermodynamic and transport properties of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells, and photonic device technologies are beginning to use ionic materials as electrolytes due to their superb stability and technologically valuable properties. As a broad class these materials have only been known for just over a decade and there is still more unknown than known about their structure and properties. The project will develop new advanced computational methods as a basis for understanding their properties and thereby allowing us to design-in desired features. Ultimately these advances will have support the development of energy efficient CO2 replacement technologies.Read moreRead less
Novel nanostructured high energy cathode material. Recently, the demand for rechargeable batteries has exploded due to the enormous increase in the variety and number of miniaturized devices. It is expected that this demand for high capacity rechargeable batteries as energy sources will become even greater in the future. This program is focused to develop novel high performance cathode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries. The outcomes of the project will be of great benefit to develop ....Novel nanostructured high energy cathode material. Recently, the demand for rechargeable batteries has exploded due to the enormous increase in the variety and number of miniaturized devices. It is expected that this demand for high capacity rechargeable batteries as energy sources will become even greater in the future. This program is focused to develop novel high performance cathode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries. The outcomes of the project will be of great benefit to develop new class rechargeable batteries that are economical, lightweight, environmentlly benign and high energy.Read moreRead less
Advanced Nanostructured Ceramic Composites for Ultracapacitors. The global climate changes and the related disastrous events such as heat flows, bushfires, and flooding will endanger the Australian population and our natural environment. The implementation of effective devices and technologies to reduce our carbon footprint is a priority task. The project addresses the issue by development of new ultracapacitor materials for next generation green energy storage devices through engineering and im ....Advanced Nanostructured Ceramic Composites for Ultracapacitors. The global climate changes and the related disastrous events such as heat flows, bushfires, and flooding will endanger the Australian population and our natural environment. The implementation of effective devices and technologies to reduce our carbon footprint is a priority task. The project addresses the issue by development of new ultracapacitor materials for next generation green energy storage devices through engineering and implementation of advanced nanoceramics and nanocomposites created by innovative nanotechnologies. The project will also contribute to other national research priorities such as materials and frontier technologies, reduction of atmospheric pollution, and decrease in the energy dependence of our country on oil.Read moreRead less
First principles for development of novel hybrid electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems. Electrochemical energy is regarded as an alternative green energy/power source. The breakthrough technologies to be developed will allow us to realise the great goal of widespread usage of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, inducing dramatic improvements to our environment. It will also help us to reduce our dependence on the current oil-driven economy, and increase national energ ....First principles for development of novel hybrid electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems. Electrochemical energy is regarded as an alternative green energy/power source. The breakthrough technologies to be developed will allow us to realise the great goal of widespread usage of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, inducing dramatic improvements to our environment. It will also help us to reduce our dependence on the current oil-driven economy, and increase national energy security and energy independence. The project will establish indigenous expertise and scientific know-how on electrochemical energy storage and conversion technology. The competitive results from this research will provide an incentive to the Australian automobile and energy industries. Read moreRead less
Large-scale rechargeable lithium battery for power storage and electric vehicle applications. This project aims to develop large-scale rechargeable lithium batteries for power storage and electric vehicles. In order to achieve this target, the related cathode materials, anode materials and electrolyte systems will be developed. The design of battery modules and assembly of prototype lithium ion batteries will be performed. The success of the research will encourage the production of electrode ma ....Large-scale rechargeable lithium battery for power storage and electric vehicle applications. This project aims to develop large-scale rechargeable lithium batteries for power storage and electric vehicles. In order to achieve this target, the related cathode materials, anode materials and electrolyte systems will be developed. The design of battery modules and assembly of prototype lithium ion batteries will be performed. The success of the research will encourage the production of electrode materials and manufacture of rechargeable lithium batteries in Australia. The utilisation of advanced rechargeable lithium batteries in electric vehicles will provide sustainable energy for transportation and greatly reduce green-house emissions in Australian urban areas.Read moreRead less
Advanced Polymer Electrolytes for Device Applications. The future of an energy sustainable society relies upon the development of a range of technologies that will involve devices such as lithium batteries, supercapacitors, sensors and fuel cells. One of the key challenges is the discovery and development of high performance materials which overcome performance limiting issues such as conductivity, durability and stability in current devices. Our recent discovery of novel successful approaches ....Advanced Polymer Electrolytes for Device Applications. The future of an energy sustainable society relies upon the development of a range of technologies that will involve devices such as lithium batteries, supercapacitors, sensors and fuel cells. One of the key challenges is the discovery and development of high performance materials which overcome performance limiting issues such as conductivity, durability and stability in current devices. Our recent discovery of novel successful approaches to the design of improved electrolyte materials will be systematically exploited to develop materials that will provide the significant advance in device performance that is required.Read moreRead less
Developing a competitive H2 production suystem based on engineered cells of green algae. The depletion of oil reserves and the effects of global warming make the development of new, clean, sustainable fuel production systems critically important. This frontier technology has the ability to drive solar-powered hydrogen production from water. Extending the system to marine algal cells provides the possibility of coupling clean fuel production with water purification as the product of H2 combustion ....Developing a competitive H2 production suystem based on engineered cells of green algae. The depletion of oil reserves and the effects of global warming make the development of new, clean, sustainable fuel production systems critically important. This frontier technology has the ability to drive solar-powered hydrogen production from water. Extending the system to marine algal cells provides the possibility of coupling clean fuel production with water purification as the product of H2 combustion is pure water. We have already engineered green algae that produce H2 from H2O at a rate ~1000% higher than the Wild-type and through this project will incorporate further improvements with the aim of developing a competitive H2 production system.Read moreRead less
Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these ne ....Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these new proton-transport materials by analyzing ionic conductivity, viscosity, thermal behaviors, and their interrelationships.Read moreRead less
Practical Hydrogen Storage for Fuel Cells Electrical Vehicles by Confined Ammonia Borane System. Practical hydrogen storage is critical to make the hydrogen economy a reality, in particular for fuel cells electrical vehicles (FCVE). However, currently there is no approach to satisfy the requirements of hydrogen storage for FCVE, e.g. fulfill the US Department of Energy target for practical hydrogen storage. This project is proposed to develop a new strategy to achieve the goal of practical hyd ....Practical Hydrogen Storage for Fuel Cells Electrical Vehicles by Confined Ammonia Borane System. Practical hydrogen storage is critical to make the hydrogen economy a reality, in particular for fuel cells electrical vehicles (FCVE). However, currently there is no approach to satisfy the requirements of hydrogen storage for FCVE, e.g. fulfill the US Department of Energy target for practical hydrogen storage. This project is proposed to develop a new strategy to achieve the goal of practical hydrogen storage which, if successful, will make FCVE possible in Australia in the near future. It will also be beneficial for reducing the dependence on exported oil and possibly solving critical environmental issues, and thus benefits the Australian economy.Read moreRead less