Sparc Hydrogen receives $2.75m commercialisation grant

Sparc Technologies has announced that, along with The University of Adelaide, it has been awarded $2.75 million in grant funding under Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) Innovate grant program. Sparc Hydrogen is a partnership between Sparc Technologies, Fortescue Ltd and The University of Adelaide, which has been developing photocatalytic water splitting (PWS) reactor technology since 2022.

AEA grant funds will support operation of Sparc Hydrogen’s PWS pilot plant at Roseworthy in South Australia along with research and development and commercialisation activities. The cash grant covers a 24-month period and will be fully supported by matched financial and in-kind commitments from Sparc Hydrogen and its shareholders — all within the existing Stage 2 scope and budget and funded from already committed cash resources. This grant follows $470,511 funding awarded to the University of Adelaide and Sparc Hydrogen under the AEA Seed round in 2023.

“We are delighted to see Sparc Hydrogen receive this significant grant from the federal government’s highly competitive AEA Innovate program to accelerate development of its novel green hydrogen production technology,” said Sparc Managing Director Nick O’Loughlin. “This funding allows Sparc Hydrogen to do more with the existing Stage 2 shareholder funding committed by Sparc Technologies and Fortescue earlier this year. It also builds on Sparc’s track record of success under the AEA program and highlights our commitment to working with Australian universities to develop and commercialise novel technologies.”

The AEA program will initially run over 10 years from 2023 to 2032, supported by a $1.6 billion investment from the Australian Government. The program is part of the Australian Government’s University Research Commercialisation Action Plan, and forms part of its efforts to supercharge commercialisation of Australia’s world-leading research in the university sector.

Sparc Hydrogen says that commercialisation of its PWS reactor technology could help Australia drive the emerging green hydrogen industry, expected to be worth US$1.4 trillion per year in 2050 requiring US$9 trillion of cumulative investment. The potential for Sparc Hydrogen’s technology to produce both hydrogen and industrial heat (low-grade steam) is also significant and could unlock additional markets.

Construction of Sparc Hydrogen’s pilot plant at The University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus is progressing on schedule and budget, with commissioning expected to commence this month.

Sparc Hydrogen expects the factility to be a globally significant site for R&D and commercialisation of PWS, reinforcing its first mover position in this emerging direct solar to hydrogen production technology. Once operational, Sparc Hydrogen will test different reactor designs and photocatalyst materials at Roseworthy under real world conditions in order to support and validate laboratory testing. Sparc Hydrogen is not aware of any similar facilities for testing and scale up of PWS under concentrated solar conditions.