Last week FFI said it had paid A$1.8 million for a 20% stake in a South Australian hydrogen startup that aims to create hydrogen from the sun and water with one key difference: it bypasses renewable energy sources and electrolysers. 

 

Rather, it will use photocatalytic water splitting, a tech that while not new is not used due to its current relatively low efficiency. It uses solar power to split water laid over a catalyst inside a reactor. It believes this could, in theory, be scaled up more easily as it does not need a proximate solar farm or wind development for power. 

 

Sparc Hydrogen has earlier received a grant from the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute totaling $2.5 million over five years. 

 

Sparc Hydrogen is a joint venture between Sparc Technologies and the University of Adelaide. At stage 2 FFI may invest another $1.475 million, taking its interest to 36%. 

 

The university holds 28% of the entity. 

 

Sparc said today the project is well underway with key equipment ordered and that a preliminary Techno Economic Assessment of the technology has begun. 

 

"Sparc's announcement last week was the culmination of over four months of challenging work between the JV partners including detailed technical due diligence, negotiation and execution of a number of key agreements to form Sparc Hydrogen," executive chairman Stephen Hunt said. 

 

"It is pleasing to now have satisfied all conditions to complete the transaction and to work with FFI and UoA to further progress this exciting project." 

 

Sparc's hydrogen development is not a new process, merely one the University of Adelaide refined to improve the efficiency of solar to hydrogen splitting and using a much lower cost catalyst. 

 

The company, which rejoined the ASX only recently via an RTO, is more focussed on hydrogen markets and the superiority of its tech over traditional green hydrogen production, but does not explain the difference over electrolyser-powered development very well. 

 

In the appendix of an investor presentation there is a rough explanation of photocatalysis. 

 

The company will not release information on what its catalyst actually is over IP concerns, although the university filed for a provisional patent in April last year. 

 

Traditionally in labs, costly titanium dioxide has been used. 

 

The other issue that Sparc, the university and FFI will have to overcome is separation of hydrogen and oxygen, and ensuring explosive potential is limited. This is not an issue for electrolyser-driven hydrogen development. 

 

The cost profile is in line with Canberra's at $2 per kilo target.

 

Operations are yet to be scaled up over the two phases and four and a half years, but at this point all costs have not been added in.