Sheinach at work

In a world where natural energy resources are diminishing and sustainability of supply is becoming a hot topic of debate, research into alternative sources is valued more highly than ever. We were therefore delighted to establish the Todd Foundation Scholarship in Energy Research, and to award it to Sheinach Dunn, a PhD student at Massey University of Ngati Maniapoto, Ngati Raukawa and Scottish descent.

“I want to contribute significantly to sustainable, renewable energy here in New Zealand,” says Sheinach, “and I’ve been given this great opportunity by being awarded the Todd Foundation Scholarship in Energy Research to investigate hydrogen technology.”

“Hydrogen is the most plentiful element on Earth and is found in combination with oxygen in water, and in organic matter including living plants, petroleum, coal, natural gas and other hydrocarbon compounds. The great attraction of hydrogen is that it’s a clean-burning fuel that can be used for electricity production, transportation and other energy needs. However, it produces neither carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) nor toxic emissions.”

Sheinach’s PhD project will investigate electrocatalysts for the efficient conversion of electricity to hydrogen and hydrogen to electricity. “Energy is required to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and electrocatalysts are used to reduce this energy requirement” explains Sheinach. “Likewise, producing electricity from hydrogen requires electrodes, a material that contains electrocatalyst particles and the electrochemical processes. I’ll be working in collaboration with other researchers at Massey University to explore ways to make this process more cost-effective and efficient”.