New technology to turn waste biomass into clean affordable energy
We are developing new technology to turn biological waste material into valuable chemicals and clean energy.
We will partner with research teams from Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand as part of the e-ASIA Joint Research Programme.
From landfill to lift-off!
We are partnering with research teams from Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand in a new project to turn biological waste material, such as forestry waste, into valuable chemicals and hydrogen gas.
The project has just received funding as part of the e-ASIA Joint Research Programme, a major initiative aimed at strengthening international collaboration on alternative energy research across east Asia and beyond. The MBIE-administered Catalyst Fund will also support the project with $400,000 provided over three years.
The challenge?
Currently producing hydrogen for energy requires expensive and rare materials, ultra-pure water, and a significant amount of renewable electricity.
Despite these barriers, pursuing hydrogen is worthwhile as it is one of few versatile low-emissions energy carriers available. Hydrogen is used globally to decarbonise sectors that are hard to electrify, as well as an alternative to batteries for large scale energy storage.
Our goal is to develop a biomass electrolyser that will use waste biomaterials, instead of ultra-pure water, to produce hydrogen as well as valuable byproducts like methanol, toluene, and ethanol.
What is a biomass electrolyser? An electrolyser is a system that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy. The biomass electrolyser will instead allow us simultaneously produce hydrogen gas and valuable chemicals from biological materials that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Here’s what we will do
- Develop ways to treat waste biomass to make it more reactive, which helps the hydrogen production process run more efficiently. We are investigating methods like chemical treatments and plasma modification to achieve this.
- Design new catalysts with sustainable materials that will reduce the energy and cost required to produce hydrogen.
- Analyse how to produce valuable green chemical byproducts like methanol, toluene, and ethanol efficiently from the waste biomass.
- Develop an economically-feasible biomass electrolyser that can be implemented at large-scale.
We’re taking a global approach by collaborating with countries that have better access to different types of biomass, such as rice in Thailand, and wheat and coffee waste in other regions.
By designing a process and technology that works for different types of biomass, we’ll be able to reach much larger markets. Therefore, instead of focusing only on New Zealand’s 5 million people, we’re designing for a global market of 320 million, which could reduce commercialisation costs by up to 79%.
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Why does this matter for New Zealand?
Making up at least two-thirds of New Zealand’s exports, our bioeconomy generates over NZ$40 billion in net trade benefit. By turning biomaterial waste into valuable products, this project aligns with New Zealand's Bioeconomy and Circular Economy strategy, aiming to make better use of the country's biological resources.
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Who is involved?
This project is a collaboration between leading research institutes from New Zealand and international partners, and industry leaders, including:
- GNS Science: Experts in hydrogen energy, materials science and electrochemistry
- Scion: Specialists in forestry products, bioenergy and biomass processing
- International research partners: Teams from Japan and Thailand will contribute to catalyst design, testing and biomass processing
- Industry connections and support: Outputs generated from this project will be disseminated through our stakeholder and industry advisory group which include companies like Hiringa Energy, Fabrum, Halcyon Power Ltd. These industry relationships will help us rapidly build a supply chain and bring the biomass electrolyser to market.