First Graphene Partners with UK-Australia Project to Advance Hydrogen Storage Solutions

First Graphene Limited (ASX:FGR; “First Graphene” or “the Company”) is excited to announce its participation in a cross-sector project titled “Accelerating Low-carbon Hydrogen Production and Safe Storage for Utilisation in Mobility” (“HyPStore”).

HyPStore combines Australian and UK expertise to develop and commercialize innovative lightweight, impermeable cryogenic all-composite (Type-V) tanks for the safe storage of liquid hydrogen.

The project, with a total cost of around $3.72 million, is partially funded by $1.73 million through Innovate UK’s UK-Australia Renewable Hydrogen Innovation Partnership Programme (“RHIPP”). It will commence in July 2024 and is expected to last approximately 21 months.

First Graphene is one of nine entities participating in the consortium and will contribute around $382,000 to the project, with $267,000 of that amount being directly provided to FGR through RHIPP.

This funding will support the Company’s crucial role in developing graphene-enhanced resins to reduce hydrogen permeability and enhance strength in composite systems. Driven by the increasing demand for safe production, storage, and transportation of hydrogen as a sustainable clean energy source in the transportation sector, HyPStore is led by Graphene Innovations Manchester (“GIM”) based in Manchester.

Other participants in the industry include Australian Sunlight Group (“ASL”), aerospace industrial partners Slingsby Advanced Composites, and Hydrogen Aircraft Services Ltd. (“HASL”). Academic institutions involved are Queen Mary University of London (“QMUL”), Brunel University London (“BUL”), University of Melbourne (“UoM”), and University of Southern Queensland (“UniSQ”).

HyPStore is designed to provide a groundbreaking solution for the production and storage of liquid hydrogen. It aims to develop a new generation of mechanically robust, impermeable tanks with enhanced safety features, including leak-before-break (“LBB”) technology and other innovative elements. The project will investigate hydrogen gas production through a novel plastic recycling process called Flash Joule Heating (“FJH”), developed by ASL, before purifying and compressing the hydrogen into liquid form. On the storage side, the initiative focuses on developing and commercializing GIM’s Type-V tank manufacturing process to produce an impermeable cryogenic tank for liquid hydrogen storage.

Impermeability is achieved by incorporating dry filament with graphene nanoplatelets, creating a protective barrier within the structure of the storage tanks. This approach has been shown to reduce hydrogen permeability by up to 48 times. Additional innovations, such as capsular and thermoplastic self-healing systems developed by QMUL, along with LBB safety designs from BUL, will be integrated into the consortium’s efforts and applied to the design and manufacture of the storage tanks.

First Graphene will contribute its expertise in graphene nanoplatelets to produce a range of materials designed for optimal performance in composite pressure vessels (“CPV”), aimed at minimizing hydrogen permeation. The company will also explore additional benefits such as improved fire retardancy and increased inherent strength. The developed CPV storage solution will be integrated, tested, and validated using HASL’s hydrogen-fueled, unmanned High-Altitude Platform System, which is used to enhance broadband and cellular network connectivity from the stratosphere.