|
Sustainable Energy Research and Development
Sustainable Energy Research & Development Grants Program
The Victorian Government has provided up to $10 million over three years for the Sustainable Energy Research and Development (SERD) Grants Program.
The program complements the Government’s Our Environment Our Future (external link) Sustainability Action Statement 2006, and seeks to drive new technologies in the sustainable energy sector to the commercial stage. The program is to facilitate industry development in niche fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean distributed generation and enabling technologies.
There is growing acceptance that climate change is happening and that deep cuts in our greenhouse gas emissions are required. The Victoria Government is looking at redesigning the State’s energy supply system and to make a smooth transition to a low-carbon future while continuing to position the economy for sustained growth. This transition cannot happen over night and the SERD Grants Program is designed to help facilitate this move with the emergence of new companies or industries in niche areas of the sustainable energy sector, such as solar, biomass, energy storage and fuel cells.
The sustainable energy field is potentially very broad, but, for the purpose of the SERD Grants Program, is deemed to include renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean distributed energy and enabling technologies. At this stage, passive energy-efficiency technologies (e.g. insulation) are not included.
The grants will enable recipients to develop expertise and intellectual property and to leverage additional support from industry and the Commonwealth Government to focus on niche markets. The R&D is to be undertaken over a period of three years, due for completion by July 2010.
Sustainable energy research and development – a Snapshot of Victoria
The sustainable energy market share of the global energy market is very small (less than 2%) but the growth potential is massive. Australia is a small player in global sustainable energy markets and is not a major product supplier into them, however, there are sufficient locally-developed sustainable energy technologies that could underpin new businesses and industries to meet local market needs and compete internationally in some sectors.
Projects
DPI’s Energy Technology Innovation Strategy has granted more than $8 million to four major research and development projects in sustainable energy through its Sustainable Energy Research and Development Grants Program.
The Sustainable Energy Research and Development Grants Program complements the Government’s Our Environment Our Future Sustainability Action Statement 2006 and seeks to drive new technologies in the sustainable energy sector to the commercial stage.
The grants, announced by the Minister for Energy and Resources on 28 March 2007, are:
- A $6 million grant for a $12 million project headed by Melbourne University to develop and increase the efficiency of organic solar cells as an alternative to silicon based cells in the generation of solar power. The project could lead to the establishment of a centre of excellence in Victoria. The grant partners include: Monash University, CSIRO, Securency (including Innovia Films), BP Solar, Merck, Bluescope Steel and NanoVic. See backgrounder and media release (external link) for more information.
- A $650,000 grant for a $1.3 million project led by Monash University to research the recycling of waste plastics for the production of diesel fuel. Monash University will team with Ozmotech Pty to investigate the formation of aromatic compounds in the production of diesel and the stringent standards around their use in the fuel.
- A $250,000 grant for a $500,000 project led by Australian Sustainable Industry Research Centre Ltd (ASIRC), based in the Latrobe Valley, to investigate the energy efficiency of solvent based fuel derived from recycling industrial liquid wastes. This research by ASIRC and Geocycle Pty Ltd will seek to reduce the amount of industrial liquid wastes going to landfill and also partially substitute the fossil fuel requirements of the cement and other energy intensive industries. See the media release (external link) for more information.
- A $1.2 million grant for a $2.92 million project led by Melbourne University to look at the development of a more efficient hydrogen-fuelled car engine and also the storage of hydrogen. The project team includes the Ford Motor Company of Australia, Haskel Australia Pty Ltd, and the Universities of North Florida, California (Berkley) and Delaware. See backgrounder and media release (external link) for more information.
The projects are due to be completed by July 2010.
Victorian Organic Solar Cell Project
The Victorian Organic Solar Cell project could position Victoria as one of the world’s leading authorities on solar generation using carbon-based (organic) solar cells, as an alternative to silicon.
High purity Silicon is a limited resource and this can impact on the world’s demand for energy from solar technologies. The present world average of primary energy demand is predicted to double by 2050 and treble by 2100.
There are no silver bullets to sustainable energy, so the only realistic solution will be to develop a suite of carbon-neutral alternative energy sources. Therefore the need to produce new low-cost alternatives to inorganic silicon is a key factor in helping to maximise our options.
The world-class research groups involved in the Victorian Organic Solar Cell project will aim to develop a prototype thin film organic solar cell which will not only replace the current silicon cells, but be able to generate electricity using standard sunlight.
One of the potential large-scale offshoots of the research could be the organic solar cells being imbedded into manufactured roofing panels for houses and buildings. This would not only protect the buildings from the elements but also generate electricity. It could also be used in solar power stations to generate electricity as an alternative to the Silicon based cells currently used.
The research will also make a significant contribution to expanding Victoria’s technological strengths in sustainable energy research to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Australia.
Hydrogen Fuelled Vehicle Technologies
World demand for alternative forms of energy for powering motor vehicles is one of the key issues facing not only the automotive industry, but all sectors of the community.
The generation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases from human activity is a major cause of climate change.
However, currently proposed hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are often criticised as likely to be excessively expensive, impractical and may take longer than currently expected to be fully commercialised.
A research group to be led by Melbourne University will seek to develop cost-effective and practical novel technologies for the use of hydrogen in existing combustion engines, as well as in hydrogen storage.
The group will redesign a current Victorian-manufactured engine with the aim of achieving not only the world’s highest efficiency for a hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine, but also fuel cells that are market-ready and at a fraction of the cost of current cells.
The group will also seek to reduce the cost and improve the storage capacity for hydrogen vehicles in general to enhance their travelling range.
|
