Sydney startup’s breakthrough hydrogen system uses 30% less energy than current methods without rare metals. Could this finally make clean fuel affordable?
What’s happening: Sydney-based Hadean Energy has developed a breakthrough hydrogen production system that uses 30% less electricity than conventional methods by cleverly combining renewable power with industrial waste heat, all without relying on expensive rare metals.
Why this matters: The technology could finally make clean hydrogen economically viable for heavy industry, addressing one of the biggest barriers to decarbonising sectors like steel-making and aviation fuel production that have few alternatives to fossil fuels.
Hadean’s tubular Solid Oxide Electrolyser (tSOE) represents a fundamental shift in how hydrogen gets made. While conventional alkaline and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers rely purely on electricity to split water molecules, Hadean’s system harnesses industrial waste heat alongside renewable electricity to drive the process more efficiently.
The result is a 30% reduction in energy consumption compared to standard methods, translating directly into lower operating costs. The company has been selected as one of 12 global finalists out of 160 applicants in the Shell-backed New Energy Challenge 2025, a recognition that opens doors to collaboration with major energy players.
“We’re incredibly proud to be recognised as a global finalist and to see an Australian science-led venture standing out on the world stage,” said Chris Rowland, Hadean’s CEO. “This is a rare opportunity to collaborate with some of the most influential players in the energy sector and advance our mission of delivering affordable, zero-emissions hydrogen and e-fuel technology at scale.”
Waste heat advantage
The breakthrough lies in Hadean’s approach to thermal integration. Most industrial processes generate significant waste heat that typically gets vented to the atmosphere. Hadean’s tSOE system captures this otherwise wasted energy and uses it to reduce the electrical input required for hydrogen production.
This thermal efficiency advantage becomes even more pronounced when producing syngas: a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide that serves as a building block for various fuels and chemicals. The technology enables industry to cut both emissions and operating costs by leveraging heat that would otherwise be lost.
Importantly, the system avoids the use of rare or expensive metals that plague many advanced energy technologies, potentially making it more scalable and less vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.
BlueScope Steel trial success
Real-world validation came earlier this year when Hadean completed a successful 1,000-hour industrial pilot at BlueScope Steel’s Port Kembla facility. The extended trial proved the technology’s performance and durability in an actual heavy industry environment, where reliability matters as much as efficiency.
Steel-making represents one of the most challenging decarbonisation targets globally, with limited alternatives to fossil fuels for high-temperature processes. Green hydrogen and syngas can significantly reduce emissions in steel production by providing cleaner energy sources, but only if the economics work.
The BlueScope pilot demonstrated that Hadean’s technology could operate consistently in harsh industrial conditions while delivering the promised efficiency gains.
Aviation to steel applications
Beyond steel, Hadean is exploring applications across hard-to-abate industries. The company is partnering with NGV Earth to develop a pilot-scale sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) plant, combining its high-efficiency syngas production with downstream catalytic synthesis to create jet fuel from renewable sources.
A multi-kilowatt demonstration unit will soon be deployed under the Australia-UK Renewable Hydrogen Innovation Partnership, showcasing the technology in both domestic and international contexts.
These applications target sectors where electrification isn’t practical, aviation, shipping, steel production, and ammonia manufacturing representing massive markets currently dependent on fossil fuels.
Ditching rare metals
Co-founded by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and RFC Ambrian, a decarbonisation-focused investment firm, Hadean’s technology addresses a critical bottleneck in clean energy deployment: cost and material constraints.
Many advanced electrolyser technologies rely on platinum, iridium, or other precious metals that are expensive and supply-constrained. By engineering around these materials, Hadean’s system offers lower capital costs alongside reduced operating expenses.
Syngas derived from waste gasification or biomass can replace natural gas in existing heavy industry equipment, reducing fossil fuel use without requiring complete infrastructure overhauls. This compatibility could accelerate adoption across industries reluctant to make massive capital investments.
The New Energy Challenge recognition provides access to Shell’s GameChanger and Shell Ventures programs, potentially connecting Hadean with the resources needed to scale from pilot demonstrations to commercial deployment.
But Rowland sees the broader hydrogen industry at a critical juncture. “The fundamental issue is clear: current green hydrogen projects keep failing to launch because the economics simply do not stack up,” he wrote in a recent analysis of Australia’s hydrogen sector.
Despite high-profile setbacks including Queensland’s flagship hydrogen project collapse and BP’s decision to pause its $600 million Western Australian clean fuel refinery plans, Rowland argues abandoning green hydrogen isn’t an option. “Global decarbonisation cannot be achieved without green hydrogen and the e-fuels that can be made from it,” he said.
The solution, according to Rowland, lies in technological innovation rather than taxpayer subsidies for flawed projects. “Instead of ever more tax-payer funding to try to support flawed projects, I propose we focus on addressing the fundamental problem, namely, that the existing technology these projects are based on is too inefficient and costly to be commercially viable.”
For an industry long promised that clean hydrogen would become cost-competitive “soon,” Hadean’s combination of proven performance, material efficiency, and thermal integration suggests that “soon” might finally be arriving: if the focus shifts from subsidizing expensive projects to backing breakthrough technologies that can actually deliver on the economics.
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