Hydrogen is seen as an important element of the energy transition to renewables around the world.
But current storage methods, which can be extremely expensive, are holding it back and hindering the transition to hydrogen in some of the most important industries, including heavy vehicles, maritime, rail and aviation.
Often the cost of storing hydrogen can be 10 times the cost of production.
Dr Jehan Kanga discovered advanced materials allowing for low-cost advanced hydrogen storage while completing a PhD at the University of Sydney, following a career at KPMG Australia.
He has since founded RUX Energy to commercialise the technology, and has established 85 partnerships around the world, including with eight major public research bodies in Australia, the UK and Singapore.
While other solutions have tried to bring down hydrogen production costs, RUX Energy’s solution brings down the cost of storage thanks to the company’s advanced nanoporous Metal-Organic framework materials.
These materials can reach densities close to liquid H2 while still operating at safe low-pressures, improving energy efficiency and safety compared to current offerings, which rely on extreme pressurisation or cryogenic-cooling.
This has been shown to lead to a 10 times reduction in costs, and five times improvement in efficiency, along with improved safety.
RUX Energy is a finalist in the InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence in the Energy and Renewables category. The InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence winners and finalists will be celebrated at a black-tie gala dinner at Sydney Town Hall on Thursday, November 27. You can book your tickets here.
The Energy and Renewables category is sponsored by the University of New South Wales.
The award aims to highlight Australia’s ambition and innovation in renewable energy, recycling and the circular economy, including everything from advancements in hydrogen extraction technologies, solar cell improvements, grid management software and innovations in re-manufacturing.
RUX Energy completed a trial of its technology in March this year in partnership with the UK’s National Composites Centre, the University of NSW and the University of Sydney.
It has since raised $17 million in grants from Australia, Singapore and the UK, and has deployed its storage solutions across the UK, France and Australia.
The company is currently raising a seed funding round to build a factory and deliver on its client projects.
RUX Energy has an overall goal to directly contribute to abate 10m Co2 emissions by 2030, and 1 billion tonnes annually by 2040.
The 2025 InnovationAus Awards for Excellence will be held on November 27 at the magnificent Sydney Town Hall. You can secure individual seats or book a table here. Purchase a table of 10 and have your logo displayed on screens across the venue and in the event programme as a ‘Table Sponsor’.
The InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence are proudly supported by ACS, PEXA Group, the CSIRO ON Program, Griffith Hack, TechnologyOne, Q-CTRL, National AI Centre, University of New South Wales, KPMG, AgriFutures Australia, Investment NSW and IP Australia.
Protecting your great ideas with intellectual property (IP) rights can lead to lasting benefits for your growing business. IP refers to creations of the mind, such as a brand, logo, invention, design or artistic work. Head to the IP Australia website to find out more about IP, and how it might help your business.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.