Australian researchers have found a novel way to separate, store and transport huge amounts of gas safely that could wind up being the missing piece of the puzzle for renewable hydrogen.

Renewable hydrogen figures enormously in the net zero emissions plans of Australia - particularly in the hard to decarbonise sectors of industry and heavy transport. But storing and transporting large quantities of gases for practical application remains a major challenge.

A team from Deakin University's Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) in Melbourne says it has found a new mechanochemical way of separating and storing gases, which is safe, uses a tiny fraction of the energy compared to traditional methods and creates zero waste.

The team says the breakthrough, detailed in the journal Materials Today, is such a departure from accepted wisdom on gas separation and storage that it had to be repeated 20 to 30 times before it could be believed.