The future of power: optimising and storing renewable energy
Australia’s premier chemistry and materials scientist, Professor Shizhang Qiao, is advancing renewable energy through his first-ever innovations in catalysis and aqueous batteries.
Renewable energy is essential for addressing climate change and securing a sustainable future. Experts say Australia could be powered entirely by renewable energy as soon as 2030, thanks to rapid industry growth. While this is a positive development, it brings new challenges: optimising and storing an increasing amount of energy. The University of Adelaide’s Professor Shizhang Qiao is tackling improved creation and storage of renewable energy with multiple breakthroughs in next-generation catalysts and aqueous batteries, advances that are solving problems across the lifecycle of renewable energy––putting us on track to a cleaner and brighter future.
Professor Shizhang Qiao, who Research.com has named both the best chemistry scientist and materials scientist in Australia, is ushering in a new generation of renewable energy technologies with his innovations in clean hydrogen energy production and grid-level battery storage. The School of Chemical Engineering professor has pioneered multiple world firsts in catalysis and aqueous batteries that he says have enormous environmental and economic benefits.
“These breakthroughs not only stabilise renewable energy use but also support economic growth by creating new industries, driving job creation, and reducing energy costs,” Qiao says.
One of Qiao’s groundbreaking research outcomes is developing new catalysts that enable highly efficient seawater electrolysis for green hydrogen production. While hydrogen is a clean energy source, traditional methods of producing it are environmentally flawed; the processes rely on precious metals like platinum and iridium and purified water that requires desalination or alkalisation, which are expensive and energy-intensive.
Qiao is making the path to hydrogen energy more cost-effective and resource-efficient by zooming in on how catalysts, the mechanisms that help efficiently split water into hydrogen and oxygen, work at an atomic level. With the help of theoretical computer modelling and the creation of new chemical compounds, Qiao undertook an accelerated experimental process to design new catalysts that don’t require pre-treatment or precious metals. His research marks the first time non-precious metal catalysts demonstrated performance comparable to the previous platinum-based systems on purified water.
“By addressing these critical issues, our research has not only advanced the field but also laid the foundation for scalable, cost-effective green hydrogen production, positioning seawater as a practical resource for sustainable energy."Professor Shizhang Qiao
Further along the renewable energy transition pipeline, Qiao is also making remarkable strides. His work on aqueous batteries is turning them into highly attractive prospects for grid energy storage.
Efficient and safe energy storage is crucial for the transition to renewables, ensuring power is available even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Currently, the most popular batteries for grid storage are lithium-ion batteries, which rely on finite resources, are expensive to produce and operate safely, and come with contamination risks during disposal.
By leveraging revolutionary nanomaterials, Qiao has significantly enhanced aqueous battery performance, creating a cheaper, more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion technology. His advancements centre around three key elements of aqueous batteries: the cathode, the anode, and electrolytes. For the cathode, Qiao invented a nanomaterial that bettered battery capacity, stability, and scalability; for the anode, he modified the surface to reduce unwanted reactions happening in the batteries, improving energy output and reliability. For the electrolyte, Qiao optimized the composition to improve performance of aqueous batteries at both room temperature and in extreme conditions, including temperatures as low as -40 °C. His research also marks the first time a research team integrated AI into the development of aqueous battery electrolytes.
“These innovations collectively position aqueous batteries as a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion systems, with significant potential for grid-scale energy storage in Australia,” Qiao says.
Through these advancements, Qiao’s research has accelerated and strengthened the green energy transition, which he believes will have a far-reaching impact in the country and beyond.
“By integrating these technologies into Australia’s energy systems, we can enhance energy security, support decarbonisation, and position the nation as a global leader in renewable energy innovation and sustainable development,” he says.
What's next
Next on Qiao’s agenda is commercialisation. With his research breakthroughs proven, he is working with industry partners to roll out his novel catalysts for seawater electrolysis and his aqueous battery improvements at commercial scale.
Qiao will also persist in his quest to optimise renewable energy and its storage by gaining deeper insights into catalytic processes and experimental methods, continuing his rapid progress in as yet-unimagined parts of the green energy evolution.