Accelerating Australian Hydrogen Industry through Research Collaboration

Agenda:

• 11:30 AEST Arrival
• 11:45 – 12:45 AEST Presentation and QnA [Online and In-person]
• 12:45 – 13:15 AEST Networking over light lunch [In-person]
• 13:15 – 14:00 AEST Tour of Laboratory facilities [In-person]

Presenter: Dr. Andrew Dick, BSc, DIS, CChem, FRSC, FAIE, Australian Hydrogen Research Networks Initiatives (AHRN)

Andrew Dicks has had an extensive career in industry and academia working on a diverse portfolio of energy projects with a focus on innovation and driving solutions to emerging industry challenges. After graduating with BSc and PhD from Loughborough University in the UK he worked for over 25 years in the technology arm of the UK gas industry where he developed expertise in gas processing and fuel cell systems. In the 1990s his skills as a project leader led to the establishment of one of Europe’s foremost fuel cell research and technology teams. His work was recognized by the Institute of Gas Engineers with the award of the Henry Jones (London) Medal in 1994. With 12 international patents to his credit, some of his technology innovations are now incorporated in commercial fuel cell systems.

Andrew is the co-author of Fuel Cell Systems Explained, a widely-acclaimed textbook published by Wiley that has been translated into both Japanese and Chinese. Other publications include several book chapters and over 70 peer-reviewed research articles. Dr Dicks is on the editorial boards of three tier-one energy journals, and has given several keynote lectures in fuel cells and hydrogen energy at international events.

As a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland, Andrew was appointed by CSIRO in 2006 to lead the National Hydrogen Materials Alliance, a cluster of 12 Australian university research groups and public bodies. He became a Director of the Australian Institute of Energy in 2004, and in 2008 was Chair of the World Hydrogen Energy Conference that was held in Brisbane. The success of this event led to the formation of the Australian Association for Hydrogen Energy (AAHE) which under the leadership of Dr Dicks hosted the World Hydrogen Technologies Convention in Sydney in 2015. As President of the AAHE, Dr Dicks has continued to promote hydrogen as one of the options for decarbonising the energy business. More broadly he has interests in renewable energy, notably solar energy, off-grid and other hybrid systems and electrochemical energy storage. He has assisted start-up ventures as an independent consultant, and as an adjunct Principal Research Fellow at Griffith University continues to be involved in supervising post-graduate researchers and to act as an examiner for PhD and MSc theses.

Andrew has undertaken many reviews of energy research programs, institutes and ventures. This includes due diligence for funding agencies and government agencies as far afield as Australia, Japan, Canada, and Sweden. He has assessed Energy R&D projects for research councils in both the UK, Singapore and Australia. His cutting-edge knowledge of energy technology combined with experience in both industry and academia, places him in a unique position to be able to assess the viability of new paradigms in energy supply and distribution, and to lead the research and development of new hydrogen energy systems.