Evimien Energy aims to commercialise new hydrogen peroxide reactor

A startup is aiming to commercialise a desktop-sized device invented at University of Queensland and able to make the “workhorse chemical” hydrogen peroxide from water and air.

According to a statement from UQ on Tuesday, its commercialisation vehicle Uniquest has licenced the device to Evimien Energy, which hopes to change production for an industrial chemical that has been made in much the same way since the 1930s.

“Hydrogen peroxide is a workhorse chemical, used globally across industries every day,” said  Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa.

“It is everywhere: used to purify water, safeguard agriculture, to bleach paper, to drive chemical production, to disinfect hospitals and even to power rockets. It has many applications beyond this.”

The unnamed device had potential to change the way the chemical is used and stored, the scale in which it needs to be synthesised, and can be powered by renewable energy.

Co-founder Bowen Wang said the company aimed to make production cleaner, safer, localised and on demand.

“Hydrogen peroxide is a perfect example of a green oxidant that breaks down into only water and oxygen, and yet most of what is used in Australia today is imported,” he said.

“That leaves industries dependent on long supply chains, one dominant supplier, and higher costs.”

The statement from UQ added that the invention is being developed “for deployment across wastewater treatment plants, mining zones and agricultural industries” and that Evimien Energy is seeking potential investors to aid in this.

According to the company’s website, it was founded in July 2024 and its hydrogen peroxide electrolyser is currently at the prototype production stage. The company is also developing hydrogen peroxide fuel cells “to address the growing demand for clean and versatile energy solutions”.

Picture: supplied