Arc Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions concludes

Launched in 2020 and led by Professor Jie Bao, the Hub was funded through the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Research Hubs Scheme. 

The Hub engaged with local and international collaborators, including through the ANZ flow battery network and global consortia.

While the Hub has concluded, its work serves as a strategic launchpad for continued momentum research, industry translation, infrastructure development and workforce training.

Key achievements of the Hub

• New high mass loading of active materials to improve the performance of supercapacitors
  The project team developed a new method to load large amounts of MnO₂ onto carbon nanotube electrodes. These electrodes were then used to fabricate flexible and mechanically strong structural supercapacitors. The supercapacitors can be applied to wearable electronics, electric vehicles, unmanned aerial/maritime vehicles, and advanced robotics, providing benefits to sectors include advanced manufacturing, defence, automobile and aerospace.
  
• Enabling aluminium smelting to be grid-responsive
  By developing advanced digital twin models, real-time “soft sensing” tools and new control algorithms, the project team enabled aluminium production rates to be safely increased or decreased in response to grid conditions. The technologies were trialled on production cells at Emirates Global Aluminium, significantly advancing their readiness for real-world industrial deployment.
  
• Advancing vanadium flow battery technologies for grid-scale energy storage
  The project team delivered key advances that could improve the performance, safety and cost-effectiveness of vanadium redox flow batteries for large-scale renewable energy storage.
  
• Building-integrated energy intelligence: from prototype to real-world impact in Dubbo
  The project team developed a prototype AI-driven energy management platform designed to optimise battery storage and solar energy use in buildings. Building on this success, the project team is implementing a next-generation hybrid energy management system in a Dubbo council building. 
  
• Financial and operational implications of community-scale batteries
  The project team developed various community-scale battery business models to determine the operational and financial implications of a community-scale battery for Narrabri. They additionally developed an open source modelling tool to facilitate informed decision-making regarding community-scale battery viability more widely.
  
• Commercial breakthroughs in Power‑to‑X technologies transform surplus electricity into usable gas
  Efforts to decarbonise global energy systems are accelerating the development of Power‑to‑X technologies. These are innovative processes that convert surplus renewable electricity into useful gaseous fuels such as hydrogen and methane.
  
  A multidisciplinary research initiative reported significant progress across multiple fronts including: 
  • High-efficiency, low-cost electrolysers based on non-platinum materials
  • Hydrogen production from seawater
  • A suite of catalysts to convert waste CO2 into value added chemicals
  • Low-cost, highly active solar photothermal catalysis systems to generate methane from H2 and CO2

For more information

You can learn about the Hub’s work on its website, including its research goals, news publications and media mentions.