CSIRO - Solar Powered Enzymes for Ammonia Production

External opportunities: These internships are not automatically approved for course credit as we do not have a formal agreement with the host organisations. They are considered as self-sourced internships and if they meet the requirements for project content, learning outcomes, safety, etc they can be considered for credit.

If you negotiate a self-sourced internship, email science.internships@anu.edu.au to enquire about credit. Contact us as soon as possible so we can assess the internship requirements, and enrolment in the internship course (eg SCNC 3000) arranged for credit. Include this information in your email: Name of Host organisation; Address of Host organisation; Title of project; Description of project and your duties; Clearances required; Host Supervisor contact details: name, address, email address and phone number; Number of units; Intended session/year of internship eg. Semester 1, 2021.

Internship type

External opportunity

Credit

For credit

Level

Bachelor, Master

Description

At CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology, with over 4 000 staff based at 57 locations throughout Australia and overseas. Our value to the Australian economy is massive. Our proud legacy invented fast Wi-Fi, Aerogard and polymer banknotes. Today we’re helping to find the first gravitational waves in space, growing gluten-free grains, 3D-printing body parts and pioneering new renewable energy sources, just to name a few. With more than 1800 patents, we are Australia’s largest patent holder. This ever-increasing wealth of intellectual property is a vast source of commercial opportunity and has already resulted in more than 150 spin-off companies, with many more to come.

Projects

Project: Solar Powered Enzymes for Ammonia Production

Internship details
Availability	Summer or Semester 1, 2021
Disciplines	Chemistry
Level	Undergraduate 2^nd or 3^rd year Postgraduate coursework
Open to international students	Yes
Preferred project skills	Biochemistry Inorganic chemistry Electrochemistry
Clearances required	No
Host supervisor	Dr Trevor Rapson, Research Scientist Ph: 02 62464104 E: trevor.rapson@csiro.au
Location	CSIRO, Black Mountain, Acton, Canberra - mainly lab work. Computer will be provided as required.

Summary:

There is a growing interest in using ammonia as a liquid carrier of hydrogen for energy applications. Currently, ammonia is produced industrially by the Haber‐Bosch process, which requires high temperature and high pressure. In contrast, bacteria have naturally evolved an enzyme known as nitrogenase, that is capable of producing ammonia and hydrogen at ambient temperature and pressure. Therefore, nitrogenases are attractive as a potentially more efficient means to produce ammonia.

In this project we are developing avenues to pave the way for solar powered enzymatic production of NH₃ and H₂. Through the project you will gain experience in electroenzymology and materials science as we seek to ‘industry proof’ nitrogenase. This work fits within CSIRO’s Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform. For more information: https://research.csiro.au/hydrogenfsp/who-we-are/

Note from Science Internships Office:

This project has been approved for credit. Please note that ANU does not have a formal agreement with CSIRO, and the intern must abide by CSIRO’s terms and conditions.

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Solar Powered Enzymes for Ammonia Production