Project description and overview:

This project addresses a crucial challenge in the Northern Territory (NT) —its ambition to establish itself as a leading player in the emerging hydrogen industry. A significant limitation to the widespread adoption of hydrogen as a fuel lies in the requirement for versatile and lightweight vessels for storage and transport.

This project will develop a lightweight, high-pressure hydrogen vessel using Advanced Fiber Placement (AFP) technology. To overcome the limitation of adopting hydrogen as a fuel, this project will develop a methodology for the rapid production of customised, low-cost hydrogen vessels using advanced composites.

The project will be broken into three phases. The AMEF co-contribution supports the second and third phases, a hydrogen vessel being designed, prototyped, and tested at the Charles Darwin University NACAS facility, and the hydrogen vessel being installed on the hydrogen UAV to demonstrate the full potential of hydrogen technology and advanced manufacturing.

This innovative project aligns with the Territory’s commitment to environmental sustainability and leadership in embracing advanced logistical technologies. This project aims to enable the safe storage of a larger quantity of hydrogen in relatively light vessels, offering significant potential for industries vital to the economic growth of the NT.