Meet two researchers turning waste and water into green energy

On International Women’s Day, Sunday March 8, we celebrate two emerging researchers helping to accelerate Australia’s transition to a net-zero future. From converting waste into green fuels to advancing next-generation hydrogen technologies, their work shows how research can deliver practical solutions to complex climate challenges.

Dr Soo Jean Park

Research Group Leader, Applied BioSciences
Macquarie University

Soo Jean Park (pictured left) is transforming Australia’s agricultural waste problem into a pathway for clean energy.

With a background in chemical science and sustainable pest management, she became increasingly aware of the amount of waste in the agricultural sector and saw an opportunity to link sustainable production with resource recovery.

“My research started in sustainable pest management, but seeing the enormous volumes of agricultural plastics and biomass waste generated each year in Australia motivated me to expand into resource and energy recovery,” she said.

Her research explores turning waste plastics, biosolids and organic biomass into useful products through gasification, a thermochemical process that recovers hydrogen and carbon-rich materials while diverting waste from landfill.

By converting mixed waste streams into green fuels, her work supports a circular, low-carbon economy.

A recent milestone from Soo Jean’s collaboration with Professor Yijiao Jiang is the successful co-gasification of mixed plastic waste and biosolids to produce high-purity hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

“This achievement demonstrates the feasibility of converting heterogeneous waste streams into valuable green fuels, a promising step toward integrated waste management and energy recovery solutions for the future,” she said.

To scale this work, Soo Jean is seeking collaboration with industry partners in waste management, renewable energy and hydrogen production, alongside support for pilot-scale demonstration and technology validation.

Partnerships with researchers in techno-economic analysis, process intensification and life cycle assessment will also help strengthen the pathway to commercial adoption.

Dr Yufei Zhao

Lecturer
University of Technology Sydney

Yufei Zhao (pictured right) is working on one of the most critical challenges in decarbonisation: producing hydrogen sustainably and at scale.

She specialises in advanced nanomaterials and electrochemical systems for clean energy, driven by the global need to reduce dependence on fossil resources.

“Most hydrogen today is generated from fossil fuels, resulting in significant CO₂ emissions,” she said.

“Green hydrogen, produced through water electrolysis powered by renewable energy, offers a zero-carbon alternative but remains limited by high costs, energy inefficiency and reliance on precious metals.”

Yufei’s research focuses on improving materials used in water electrolysis to make green hydrogen more efficient, durable and less dependent on rare metals.

A recent highlight is the development of transition metal-based high-entropy electrocatalysts made from more common materials and able to operate reliably under industrial conditions at ultra-high current densities for more than 600 hours.

“This achievement demonstrates that high-entropy materials can combine activity, durability and scalability, addressing a critical bottleneck in water electrolysis,” she said.

“It represents an important step toward replacing scarce noble-metal catalysts and enabling long-lifetime, high-throughput green hydrogen production systems suitable for real-world deployment.”

For industry, this research supports net-zero goals by enabling companies to replace fossil-based hydrogen with renewable-powered electrolysis while maintaining productivity and competitiveness.

For government, it strengthens energy security and supports the development of domestic green hydrogen capability.

Yufei is now seeking collaboration with hydrogen and electrolyser manufacturers to move her high-entropy catalysts from laboratory validation to pilot-scale demonstration and real-world integration.

Soo Jean Park and Yufei Zhao are ambassadors in the NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub’s Early- and Mid-Career Working Group program, representing their universities and connecting peers across the decarbonisation sector.