Multimillion-dollar boost for revolutionary energy storage

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, will invest $50 million over the next five years in four new programs to drive critical breakthroughs in major national challenges. The programs are part of CSIRO’s $200 million portfolio of Future Science Platforms (FSPs) — programs that push the boundaries of existing research through collaboration with universities and industry:

• The Revolutionary Energy Storage Systems FSP aims to transform Australia’s electricity grid from one designed to support fossil fuels to one that incorporates more sources of renewable power.
• The Permanent Carbon Locking FSP will harness biology, chemistry and engineering to drive innovation in carbon capture and carbon storage science.
• The Immune Resilience FSP will build on the accelerated understanding of human and animal immune systems gained from COVID-19 to develop technologies that prevent, protect and respond to emerging health threats.
• The Advanced Engineering Biology FSP will deliver new tools to develop fast-tracked solutions for some of the most pressing challenges of this century — from food security to health and wellbeing and carbon-neutral industries.
   

Dr Adam Best, Interim Director of the Revolutionary Energy Storage Systems FSP, said disruptive change is crucial to meeting future energy needs safely, efficiently and sustainably. “Unlocking the secret to efficient and safe energy storage could see us charge electric vehicles as easily as we now fill our petrol tanks, or keep our portable devices charged for many days without the need for a top-up,” Dr Best said.

“On a larger scale, it could even be mimicking pumped hydro through new technology and making it more responsive to the needs of the grid.”

CSIRO’s Chief Scientist, Professor Bronwyn Fox, said the new FSPs will bring together industry and science, including early-career researchers, to develop the science that will shape our future.

“CSIRO’s Future Science Platforms are a big part of our strategy to stay at the forefront of discovery,” Prof Fox said.

“They are a critical part of the way we do science — they are our investment in cutting-edge, transformative research where we push the boundaries of science and lean into the seemingly impossible.

“The foundational research that these four new Future Science Platforms will undertake will pave the way for innovations and catalyse new industries that will help us to better manage our health, food security, natural resources and environment in the decades to come.”

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