By weight, hydrogen is the most energetic of any fuel and has the potential to store energy from renewable sources at greater scale and lower cost than any existing technology. As a pure molecule or combined with other elements, hydrogen has the flexibility to address the needs of many sectors and assist the transition to a decarbonised economy. Being a constituent of water, hydrogen is also abundantly available.

The Material Energy Research Laboratory in nanoscale, or MERLin, is exploring hydrogen storage technologies. In this seminar, MERLin’s Professor Francois Aguey-Zinsou will demonstrate the advancements to enable the widespread use of hydrogen as an energy carrier and how our expertise and ability to retain technological sovereignty in this rapidly evolving space might impact on the future of Australia.

Francois Aguey-Zinsou is an expert in hydrogen technologies and leads the Material Energy Research Laboratory in nanoscale within the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW Sydney. MERLin supports the commercialisation of hydrogen technologies to help make Australia a leader in sustainable energy.

Francois’ group has been working for many years on the properties of light metals and their hydrides for hydrogen storage application and commercialisation. He is also developing technologies for enabling novel fuel cells and electrolyser architectures and advanced catalysts for hydrogen combustion.

Francois has a PhD in Heterogeneous Catalysis from the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris. He is the Vice President of the Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation, which promotes cooperative research efforts between the two nations. Francois is also Co-director of the Australian-French Research Network FACES and the ARC Training Centre for Hydrogen GlobH2E, co-founder and CTO of several start-ups, and Chief Investigator of HySupply.

The 2021 Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series is held at Fishburners, Level 2, Sydney Startup Hub.

Where: Sydney Startup Hub, 11 York St, Sydney 2000. Entry is to the right of Wynyard Station. Take the elevators to level two, where a staff member will direct you.

When: Wednesday 23 June 2021. Breakfast, tea and coffee will be served from 7.15am.

Seminars will commence at 8am and conclude by 9am. Tea and coffee will also be available afterwards until 9.30am.

Due to the current NSW Government COVID-19 restrictions, this event can accommodate a maximum of 200 attendees. Please confirm your attendance through Eventbrite at the link below. RSVPs will close upon receipt of the first 200 acceptances or by 5:00pm Friday 18 June.

Given the restricted audience capacity, we respectfully request that any confirmed attendee email us at events.rsvp@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au should they become unable to attend, to allow for another to be invited in your place. All guests will be required to check in using the Service NSW app. If you are feeling unwell, please do not attend the seminar.

RSVP: Friday 18 June 2021

TO REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/hydrogen-science-and-the-future-of-australia-tickets-141797266441

For further information email events.rsvp@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 9338 6817.