Energy storage is critical for assisting in storage or renewable energy and improving grid resilience. Long duration energy storage of over 8 hours is required to meet current and near-term demands. NextGEN will work across all areas of flow battery, fuel cell and solid-state battery technologies together with development of their control systems. New advanced designs, improved performance and reduce costs are primary directives.
Research goal
- Design optimisation of electrode geometries for minimizing cell resistance.
- New cell designs for minimizing pressure drop across the cell.
- Design of primary & secondary manifold system concepts for minimizing shunt currents.
- Material selection and fabrication techniques for producing high efficiency cell assemblies.
- Design tank and hydraulic system
- Control and Monitoring system
- Catalysts for fuel cell electrodes
- Fuels cell gas diffusion electrodes and design
- Computational modelling of new cell geometries for maximizing power density.
- Design and development of pilot-scale prototype battery.
ChallENG Area
Vertically Integrated Projects
Research Areas
- Flow batteries
- Fuel cells
- Solid state batteries
- Liquid metal batteries
- Electrolyte production and stability
- Design of battery cells and stacks
- Control system and Monitoring
- Fault detection
- Total system design
- Computational hydraulic and electrochemical modelling
- Technoeconomic modelling
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
- Goal 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
- Goal 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
- Goal 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
- Join this team for
- Desired Skills
Credit
✔ 6 UoC per course
Industry partners
- Mechanical Engineering – mechanical engineering design, computational modelling, CAD
- Chemical Engineering – electrochemistry, electrochemical systems, chemical processing, process control
- Minerals Engineering – catalysts, raw materials processing
- Electrical Engineering – battery modelling, circuit design, control systems
- Other – project management, digital twin development, techno-economic modelling, business and outreach
Team Academic Lead
A.Prof Chris Menictas
Associate Professor
School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering
Rahman Daiyan
Senior Lecturer
School of Minerals & Energy Resources
r.daiyan@unsw.edu.au