Proton Flow Reactor System

R&D Focus Areas:
Proton batteries

Lead Organisation:
RMIT University

Partners:
Eldor Corporation (Italy), Kyushu University (Japan)

Status:
Completed

Start date:
September 2018

Completion date:
October 2021

Key contacts:
Professor John Andrews (lead):  john.andrews@rmit.edu.au
Professor Gary Rosengarten (co-lead): gary.rosengarten@rmit.edu.au
Professor Bahman Shabani: bahman.shabani@rmit.edu.au
Professor Sherman CP Cheung: chipok.cheung@rmit.edu.au

Funding:
AUD$805,000: ARENA

Project total cost:
AUD$1.7 million – AUD$805,000 (ARENA cash), AUD$70,000 Eldor Corporation (cash) and AUD$800,000 in-kind contribution from RMIT University

Project summary description:
The aim of the project has been to develop an integrated system for storage of electricity from renewable energy and export the stored energy as hydrogen within hydrogenated carbon-based material.

A novel ‘proton flow reactor’ (PFR) system for producing hydrogenated carbon(C)-based powder for bulk export has been developed. This reactor – a novel and scaled-up extension of RMIT’s innovative proton battery concept – uses electricity from renewables to split water and charge a stream of C-particles in a slurry electrode with the protons produced.

The system is zero-emission and environmentally benign. It offers a way to export a hydrogen-rich solid carbon material charged using renewable energy, as well as to store intermittent renewable energy on electricity grids at various scales.

Related publications and key links:
WO2021258157A1 – Proton flow reactor system – Google Patents

Proton Flow Reactor System End of Activity Report – Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Electrochemical hydrogen storage in porous carbons with acidic electrolytes: Uncovering the potential – ScienceDirect

On charge distribution and storage in porous conductive carbon structure – ScienceDirect

Electrochemical storage reactions of hydrogen in activated carbon from phenolic resin – ScienceDirect

Enhancement of the performance of a proton battery – ScienceDirect

Carbon-based slurry electrodes for energy storage and power supply systems – ScienceDirect

Experimental Study of Electronic and Ionic Conductivity of a Carbon-Based Slurry Electrode Used in Advanced Electrochemical Energy Systems | ACS Applied Energy Materials

Using electrical conductivity to determine particle sedimentation status of carbon-based slurry electrodes in electrochemical energy storage systems – ScienceDirect

Electronical Conductivity Improvement of Carbon-Based Slurry Electrodes Using Carbon Foams for Enhanced Performance in Advanced Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems | ACS Omega

Slurry electrode properties for minimizing power loss of flowable electrochemical hydrogen storage systems – ScienceDirect

Effects of current collector shape and configuration on charge percolation and electric conductivity of slurry electrodes for electrochemical systems – ScienceDirect

The effect of flow rate and concentration on the electrical conductivity of slurry electrodes using a coupled computational fluid dynamic and discrete element method (CFD–DEM) model – ScienceDirect

proton-flow-reactor-midterm-activity-report.pdf (arena.gov.au)

proton-flow-reactor-system-end-of-activity-report.pdf (arena.gov.au)

Higher degree studies supported:
Two PhD students were partially supported through this funding.

 

Updated: December 2023