Catalytic Hydrogen Production via Pyrolysis
In March 2025, Dr Gule ‘Ellena’ Li, an early career researcher with the Centre for Energy Technology became lead entrepreneur on an AEA Ignite grant to accelerate the development of methane pyrolysis technology to produce hydrogen for the project ‘Catalytic Hydrogen Production via Pyrolysis (CHyPP)’.
The CHyPP project aims to demonstrate and advance a revolutionary low-emission hydrogen production technology by optimising catalysts used to pyrolyse methane into hydrogen and a range of valuable solid carbon byproducts. The technology uses thermal storage to lower the cost of harnessing renewable electricity for heating and a reaction pathway suited to produce a suite of long-lived carbon co-products. The project will develop a new generation of catalysts, building on earlier work, to increase hydrogen yields and allow types of carbon co-products to be tailored to specific markets. It focuses on optimising system performance and commercial viability, incorporating 1414 Degrees Ltd.'s low-cost thermal storage to support renewable energy use and net-zero emissions. It will also advance the development of the engineering models needed to further upscale and optimise the technology for given markets of carbon coproducts. It will increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the platform from 3 to 4, with a pathway to TRL 7 within five years, bringing closer to market a new approach with strong potential to lower the cost of large-scale, net-zero hydrogen, whose current high cost is a barrier to its wide-scale use
The project has potential to accelerate the transition to three of Australia's major industrial sectors to become leading suppliers of new products for the net-zero economy, while also introducing a new industry in carbon-based feedstock supply. It will strengthen the capacity of the natural gas industry to transition to supply net-zero hydrogen instead of natural gas, of the agricultural sector to achieve greater circularity by harnessing its methane emissions that presently escape as fugitive emissions, and of the iron and steel sectors to transition to supply high value hydrogen-based directly reduced iron. It also has potential to help establish Australia as a leading supplier of new feedstock for, or final products in, long-lived, high-value carbon-based products that can displace or supplement materials derived from fossil fuels, such as asphalt, and carbon intensive materials, such as construction materials and soil enhancers like ‘bio’-char.
The CHyPP team comprises lead entrepreneur, Dr Gule ‘Ellena’ Li, collaborating entrepreneurs, A/Prof Simon Smart from the University of Queensland, Dr Zhiwei Sun, Prof Graham ‘Gus’ Nathan and Dr Peijun Guo, from the University of Adelaide and Dr Farzad Poursadegh industry partner entrepreneur from 1414 Degrees Ltd.