Star Scientific is a finalist under the New Economy category for its innovative Hydrogen Energy Release Optimiser, or HERO®.

The SXSW Innovation Awards recognise and celebrate the most exciting tech developments in the connected world.

The New Economy category recognises those redefining the exchange of goods and services, from the sharing economy to virtual currency, to micro-finance, to mobile-device-payment systems, and beyond.

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HERO® is designed to be deployable for small scale power solutions in remote locations or scaled up for large legacy industrial sites such as steel mills and coal-fired power stations where it can be retrofit to ensure continuity and sustainable power generation.

This green hydrogen-fuelled technology can rapidly produce a clean, zero-emission source of heat, reaching over 700 degrees Celsius in minutes.

The larger the surface area of the catalyst and the more hydrogen is introduced into the system; the more heat is generated with the only byproduct being pure water.

Andrew Horvath, Global Group Chairman of Star Scientific Limited said, “This is an exciting time to be pioneering hydrogen technology and I am very proud of the Star Scientific team. We are seeing a shift toward hydrogen as the energy choice of the future, and we are very excited by the opportunities that HERO® will bring.

“HERO® is the missing link in the hydrogen supply chain, turning green hydrogen into continuous industrial heat without combustion.

“Thanks to the Internet of Things and 5G, the digital economy demands a huge amount of energy. The world is yet to grasp the reality that data centres are the “new steel”.  Data centres are looking to get off the grid, but solar, wind and batteries won’t serve their needs alone – which is why they are so interested in green hydrogen.

“Our HERO® hydrogen technology will close the gap in carbon-free 24/7 intensive energy needs for the digital economy.”