The research and development project led by Dr Rahman Daiyan, in collaboration with industry partners, will receive a total of more than $4 million.<\/p>\n
UNSW researchers are set to scale up a next-generation electrolyser system that helps produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using renewable energy, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the TRaCE Lab to Market Fund.<\/p>\n
The electrolyser converts carbon dioxide and water into precursors that can then ultimately be turned into green fuel for aircraft.<\/p>\n
The funding from\u00a0TRaCE<\/a>, the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy program established by the Australian Department of Education, has been boosted by industry partners to total $4.2 million, with the aim of achieving a critical breakthrough in the reduction of emissions in aviation.<\/p>\n The UNSW-led project, involving\u00a0Dr Rahman Daiyan<\/a>,\u00a0Scientia Professor Rose Amal<\/a>, and adjunct Professor Jimmy Yun, will work in association with Australian partner Tjindu Power and Chuangqi Times (Qingdao) Technology Company, a clean tech developer based in China.<\/p>\n The team have already developed a carbon dioxide electrolyser system using low-cost transition metal and carbon catalysts, which can be integrated with the well-established Fischer-Tropsch process to produce sustainable aviation fuel.<\/p>\n Decarbonising aviation is one of the toughest challenges in the race to net zero. Unlike cars or homes, planes can\u2019t easily switch to be electrified and the fuels they burn release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Globally, aviation accounts for about 2-3% of emissions, but it’s a fast-growing sector with limited alternatives.<\/p>\n Many emerging clean energy technologies aim to replace fossil fuel production with sustainable aviation fuels and e-fuels but these solutions are still expensive, energy-intensive, and not yet ready for mass deployment.<\/p>\n “Our goal is to revolutionise how we produce clean fuels for aviation, using renewable energy to transform CO\u2082 into usable fuels without requiring costly infrastructure changes. This technology could be the key to decarbonising aviation, one of the world’s most challenging sectors,” said Dr Daiyan, a Scientia Fellow in the\u00a0School of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineering<\/a>, and Lead Chief Investigator at UNSW.<\/p>\n