What you need to know about hydrogen

This 2-day online course presented by the AHRN is for those who want to understand the role of research in the technologies, economics and cross-cutting issues associated with the hydrogen industry.

Course Overview

Over the past 5 years hydrogen has emerged in Australia as one of the key means of addressing climate change. A National Hydrogen Strategy was launched in 2019 and revised in 2024. Beyond the headlines, there is often little understanding of the challenges posed by the nascent ‘hydrogen industry’ which can lead to over-promise in what can be achieved. According to the International Energy Agency, only 4% of proposed green hydrogen production projects have reached final investment decision (FID)[1].

This course is targeted at PhD students and early career researchers who may be involved in hydrogen related research. It will also appeal to engineers and other professionals associated with the hydrogen industry who want to know how to understand some of the fundamental challenges that hydrogen faces and how scientific and engineering research can help address them.

Course content

Day 1.

• · Introduction to hydrogen, its properties and safety concerns
• · Basic electrochemistry as applied to hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolysis
• · Current hydrogen production methods
• · Green hydrogen production
• · Engineering challenges of hydrogen production and storage
• · Round table discussion on technology bottlenecks, with Prof Jonathan Love CQU, Dr Jessica Allen Newcastle University, Prof Evan Gray Griffith University, Dr Liezl Schoeman CSIRO.

Day2.

• · Liquid hydrogen and other means of transport
• · Hydrogen end uses as feedstock, fuel, power generation
• · Hydrogen system design and analysis, with examples from Australian production projects
• · Economic analysis, the markets and building the business case for hydrogen as a commodity
• · Cross-cutting bottlenecks – regulations and compliance issues
• · Current status of the hydrogen industry in the Asia-Pacific region
• · Round table discussion on supporting the industry in Australia, with Leigh Kennedy – Australian Hydrogen Council, Dr Patrick Hartley CSIRO Hydrogen Mission, Loren Tuck – HyCel, Deakin Universtiy.

Starting with a discussion of the properties of hydrogen especially with respect to its safety, the different methods of generating hydrogen will be explored in detail showing the advantages and disadvantages of each, both in terms of technology and costs. Hydrogen currently is produced at scale for industrial applications, notably the generation of ammonia and the refining of petroleum. The established industrial hydrogen production methods utilising fossil fuels will be described before addressing methods of producing green hydrogen and storage.

The second day moves from the technology focus to the whole hydrogen value chain and considers different means of transporting and utilising hydrogen with a focus on ensuring that research is focused on issues that have an economic benefit. Key to these issues is identifying profitable markets and applications for hydrogen, and their challenges. To complete the course we have brought together experts who have a role in the developing industry to help guide relevant research.

Key Takeaways and Features

• · An understanding of the opportunities for hydrogen in the Asia-Pacific region
• · A technical summary of H2 production, storage and transmission, and fuel cell technologies
• · An understanding of the markets for hydrogen in renewable energy export, transport, power, industry
• · Gain practical insights on how the industry has developed so far and what opportunities lie ahead
• · Practical examples of case studies for Australian hydrogen projects and research applications
• · An understanding of the techno-economic aspects of hydrogen projects

Course presenters

Dr Andrew Dicks is currently the CEO of the Australian Hydrogen Research Network. With a research career in both industry and the university sector, Andrew has delivered online and in-person hydrogen training courses over the past 6 years in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK. Cutting through the hydrogen hype, he can draw on practical examples of hydrogen projects that have shaped the nascent global hydrogen industry. For this AHRN course, Andrew is joined by well-respected experts in specific areas related to hydrogen including Profs Evan Gray, Jonathan Love , Dr Gareth Forde, Dr Jessica Allen and Dr Patrick Hartley.