Hadean Energy wins $15m ARENA grant for waste-heat hydrogen
CSIRO spinout Hadean Energy has secured a $15 million ARENA grant to pilot a solid oxide electrolyser that uses factory waste heat to make cheaper green hydrogen.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesCSIRO spinout Hadean Energy has secured a $15 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to test whether waste heat from heavy industry can lower the cost of producing green hydrogen.
ARENA will fund half of a $30 million pilot plant planned for industrial gas supplier BOC's Western Port site in Victoria. The plant will produce up to 7kg of hydrogen an hour for a neighbouring steelworks, roughly 85% of the hydrogen needed for annealing, a heat treatment that stops the steel's surface from oxidising.
How the technology works
Hadean is commercialising a tubular solid oxide electrolyser that CSIRO researchers spent eight years developing. Its ceramic tubes use electricity and heat to split steam into hydrogen and oxygen. By tapping heat a factory already generates, Hadean estimates it can cut electricity use by around 30% compared with conventional electrolysers.
In 2024, a prototype ran for 1,000 hours at BlueScope's Port Kembla steelworks in NSW, using less than 36 kilowatt-hours of electricity per kilogram of hydrogen thanks to steam from the plant. The Victorian pilot will scale the system from about one kilowatt to 200-300kW.
Funding and next steps
CSIRO and corporate adviser RFC Ambrian launched Hadean in 2023, and RFC Ambrian's fund put $1.5 million into its seed round that year. The company has also raised capital from RFC Ambrian, engineering partner Amarna Energy and private investors to cover its share of initial design and engineering. Amarna will design the equipment linking the electrolyser to industrial sites.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said green hydrogen has significant potential to cut emissions in industries that are hard to electrify. "This pilot will demonstrate how Hadean's technology performs in a real-world industrial environment and provide the evidence needed to assess its commercial potential," he said.
Hadean expects to raise more capital over the next 12 months to cover construction costs.
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