Producing hydrogen and fresh water from the same system

Challenge

Renewable hydrogen is expected to play an important role in Australia's future energy mix, but producing hydrogen through electrolysis requires highly purified water.

For many proposed hydrogen projects, that water comes from freshwater sources already relied upon by communities, agriculture and industry. In regional and drought-prone areas, concerns about water security can create challenges for new developments.

At the same time, hydrogen production systems generate large amounts of heat that are typically removed through cooling systems and released to the environment.

Researchers saw an opportunity to tackle both challenges at once by finding a way to reuse this wasted heat to produce the high-quality water needed for hydrogen production.

Solution

CQUniversity's Centre for Sustainable Energy is developing a unified system that integrates water treatment and hydrogen production.

The technology uses waste heat from an electrolyser to desalinate and purify water through a membrane distillation process. The purified water is then reused as feedwater for hydrogen production.

Rather than treating hydrogen production and water treatment as separate systems, the project combines both processes into a single integrated design.

Led by Dr Michael Opolot, the research is investigating how the technology performs using a range of sustainable water sources, including:

• Seawater
• Fitzroy River water
• Awoonga Dam water
• Recycled effluent water

Researchers have also developed advanced models that simulate how the system would operate in real-world renewable hydrogen facilities.

What's Next?

Researchers are currently procuring equipment for installation in CQUniversity's hydrogen research facilities in Gladstone. Laboratory trials will validate the modelling outcomes and test the integrated system using water sources from across the Gladstone region. The resulting data will support the design of future large-scale hydrogen facilities capable of producing clean hydrogen while reducing pressure on Australia's freshwater resources.

Impact

Supporting water-smart hydrogen production

The technology could enable future hydrogen projects to use sustainable water sources such as seawater, reducing reliance on valuable freshwater resources and helping address community concerns about water security.

Turning waste into a resource

Hydrogen plants already produce heat that must be removed during operation.

Instead of discarding that heat, the integrated system uses it to produce fresh water, improving overall efficiency and creating value from an existing energy stream.

Reducing costs and improving performance

CQUniversity modelling found key design improvements could increase freshwater production by almost four times while reducing water production costs by more than 80 per cent.

The research also showed the integrated system could supply up to two-thirds of its own water requirements during operation.

Helping industry make informed decisions

A major barrier to adopting new hydrogen technologies is the lack of validated performance data.

This project will provide industry with modelling, laboratory testing and operational data that can be used to assess performance, optimise system designs and support future investment decisions.

Advancing international research

Interest in integrated hydrogen and water treatment systems is growing around the world.

Centre for Sustainable Energy Director Professor Jonathan Love recently highlighted the potential of unified distillation and electrolysis systems in a Nature Energy News & Views article, outlining how these technologies could reduce dependence on shared water infrastructure while improving sustainability and efficiency.