First published 1 March 2024
QUT is celebrating the awarding of $2,201,601 for two ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellowships for sustainability-related projects.
Professor Sara Couperthwaite has been awarded a $1,065,000 ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellowship for the project, Mineral processing in a fossil fuel free world.
The project aims to address the challenge of securing critical minerals for the energy transition amid declining fossil fuel supplies.
Professor Couperthwaite, from the QUT School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, said this project would overcome barriers associated with the current dependency on fossil fuels in mineral processing.
“The research will develop pathways for hydrochloric acid processing for critical mineral recovery, battery-grade mineral production and demonstration of renewable energy integration,” she said.
“The project's outcomes will significantly expedite mineral processing, decoupled from fossil fuels, to secure a supply of critical minerals for the energy transition, in line with the Paris Agreement’s mandate to limit global warming to 1.5oC and the International Energy Agency’s net-zero emissions by 2050 goal.
“The completed project could enable adoption by multiple primary producers and enhance Australia's economic resilience, reduce dependence on imports, and stimulate local industries, contributing to overall economic prosperity.”
Professor Couperthwaite’s industry partner is Lava Blue Ltd.
Professor Ziqi Sun from the QUT School of Chemistry and Physics has been awarded a $1,136,601 ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellowship grant for the project, Generating green hydrogen from mining wastes.
Professor Sun said the project aimed to convert waste from the mining industry into direct energy materials as effective catalysts for green hydrogen production from water splitting.
“Sustainable generation of green hydrogen can happen only with the help of catalysts, which currently are high-cost and have low efficiency,” Professor Sun said.
“This project will produce high-performance but low-cost catalysts from mining industry wastes to produce hydrogen without emissions.
“Processes involved in achieving this aim include tailing activation, catalytic activity evaluation, mass production of tailing-based catalysts, real water performance assessment, and bench-top hydrogen electrolyser fabrication.
“The breakthroughs in catalysts will be translated into building hydrogen industries as a part of National Hydrogen Strategy and position Australian as a leader in clean energy technologies.”
Professor Sun’s industry partners are Pure Power Tech Pty Ltd and Schnell Energy Pty Ltd.
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