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A team at CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology has developed a small device that can extract enough hydrogen per day from water to power a family car for up to 150km.
The device runs on mains electricity but researchers are investigating how to power it with renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.
CSIRO is working on developing a solid-state system based on polymer electrolyte membranes for on-demand, distributed hydrogen production at homes, small-to-medium enterprises, remote locations, service stations and other end-user sites, where water and electricity are available.
The hydrogen generated could be stored for long periods and be converted to electricity when needed.
The ability to generate energy on-site and on-demand would reduce up-front infrastructure costs, according to project leader Dr Sukhvinder Badwal.
"We would like to have a commercial partner on board, as full-scale commercialisation is three to four years away," he said.
Badwal says the hydrogen economy is a real possibility, and while hydrogen cannot yet compete with fossil fuels, rising oil prices could change this situation.
"Every time we stop at the petrol station to fill up the car we are reminded that fuel prices are not getting any lower," Badwal says.
"We just need to look towards future oil import costs."
Badwal says that hydrogen is the cleanest fuel nature has given us and its portability and flexibility makes it ideal for a range of applications, including transport.
"While Australia has abundant renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, they cannot directly provide the portable fuel required by the transport sector," he says.
"Hydrogen can fulfil that demand, but because it is not a naturally occurring fuel it has to be generated using conventional fuels or renewable sources."
While several commercial hydrogen systems exist, they are not very efficient, according to Badwal.
He said these systems also had high capital costs and could not handle the intermittent and varying loads typical of renewable energy sources.
