A brand new pilot plant in South Australia is now under construction with Sparc Hydrogen. The plan for this project, is that it will use its photocatalytic water splitting (PWS) production process to create hydrogen.

This project has been setup as a joint venture between Sparc Technologies, Fortescue and University of Adelaide and collectively, these companies aim to advance its PWS reactor from TRL-5 to TRL-6. Other goals within this project include, validating real-world performance, as well as, refine engineering and safety protocols.

The engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract at the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus, has made Incitias Pty eligible for their current role as construction leader. This role was provided to the company after the Light Regional Council approved the planning consent. On top of this, Sparc also made sure to secure the first patent for their licensed PWS reactor technology and this occurred in Q1 2025.

It has already been agreed that the pilot plant will be set for commission in mid-2025 and it is anticipated that the plant will use concentrated solar conditions to test reactor designs and photocatalyst materials.

Furthermore, it has been made clear that Sparc Hydrogen’s production processes have a large amount of similarities with the approach that was adopted by Climate Impact Corporation’s (CIC).

CIC’s co-founder David Green saif that, ‘many Australian hydrogen projects underestimate energy efficiency needs, with 70-80% of green hydrogen costs stemming from electricity.’

Due to these statistics, it was CIC that suggested off-grid solar power at CIC, in order to avoid grid charges. This is because grid charges often account for around 20-25% of delivered electricity costs. Therefore, rather than opting to rely on subsidies which often sustain inefficiencies, Green chooses cost-reduction strategies, with the intention of turning green hydrogen into a competitive field.

Sparc Hydrogen spoke about their production process, “Crucially, PWS does not rely on renewable electricity sources such as solar or wind farms, not expensive electrolysers, to produce hydrogen from water. This addresses a fundamental issue in the nascent green hydrogen industry – the cost of renewable electricity. [The] technology employs photocatalyst materials and sunlight to produce green hydrogen directly from water.”

Sparc Managing Director, Nick O’Loughlin, commented, “It is very rewarding to see progress being made both at Roseworthy and in the factory towards delivering a globally leading facility for green hydrogen production via PWS. In an environment where major challenges exist for hydrogen projects due to the high cost of power, the requirement for new solutions to unlock low-cost green hydrogen without relying on electrolysers has never been higher.”