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March 2026
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In this newsletter
- New Advisory Committee
- Message from the AC Chair and Co-Chair
- Centre Charter
- CI Workshop sets the direction for 2026
- ISE Satellite Workshop
- New resource page on getco2.org
- EMCR Winter School in Melbourne
- Austalia-Japan Innovation Fund 2025-26 Grant
- ALLCO2 International Conference - save the date
- ConASTA
- Summer internships
- Reminder: MentorLoop - ARC CoE Mentoring Program
- Welcome New Centre Members
- Upcoming events
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New Advisory Committee
The Strategic and Research Advisory Committees have been merged into a single Advisory Committee (AC), after the retirement of former Strategic Advisory Committee Chair, Professor Robin Batterham, AO FTSE FREng FAA. We warmly thank Robin for generously giving his time and expertise in leading Centre strategy over the past 2 years. We are fortunate that Dr Anita Hill FAA FTSE and Prof Sandra Kentish FTSE GAICD, from our previous Research Advisory Committee, will step into new roles as AC Co-Chairs. We welcome Anita and Sandra into these roles and believe that the Centre research and strategy will continue to benefit greatly from their experience and insights.
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Message from the AC Chair and Co-Chair
- Dr Anita Hill & Prof Sandra Kentish
With the newly established Advisory Committee structure, we sincerely thank Professor Robin Batterham for his tremendous leadership as the former Strategic Advisory Committee Chair, steering the success of GETCO2 since its commencement in 2023. We also congratulate the Centre on the spectacular 2025 results, including the fundamental science breakthroughs and translation efforts. We were especially impressed by the construction of the portable formic acid generator and by the winning pitch from the CO₂nverters team at the 2025 Hackathon. Their innovative electrolyser concept, designed and constructed to provide farmers with affordable, safe formic acid without complex infrastructure, demonstrates the kind of bold, practical thinking needed to propel decarbonisation technologies forward.
Looking ahead, we are excited to follow further fundamental breakthroughs and scale-up of various electrolyser technologies being developed in GETCO2. We are committed to helping GETCO2 connect with the innovation ecosystem to advance the Technology/Manufacturing Readiness Level.
Based on our experience, we are always looking for best practices and are impressed by examples where team effort has literally changed the world for the better. Those examples are pathfinders; they are talked about for decades and have a longer legacy, given that newer innovations are standing on their shoulders. They tend to happen in clusters where innovation and creativity are visible and fostered. We believe that bright minds will spark bright minds to create a visible legacy.
Our vision is that GETCO2 creates the environment where world-changing breakthroughs of the next 50 years can emerge. The long-term aspiration is to develop a pilot-scale platform that can generate a carbon-based product at a gram or even kilogram scale. This will require a true multidisciplinary effort, involving researchers from many fields, as well as consultation with industry partners and with end-users.
Creativity will come from those who listen, engage and remain open to ideas beyond their field of expertise. The magic happens when the right problem is solved at the right time for Australia.
GETCO2 is well placed to do just that.
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Centre Charter
We’re excited to share our Centre Charter, a guiding framework outlining our shared purpose, values, and culture. Developed through three centre‑wide surveys, it reflects the voices and perspectives of our stakeholders and captures the values that matter most to our community. The Centre Charter aims to serve as a unifying reference point for our centre, ensuring we remain aligned with our purpose and consistent in how we operate. The Charter was introduced to Centre members at our 2025 Conference, and was further discussed among our leaders at the recent CI workshop.
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See the Charter here >> |
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CI Workshop sets the direction for 2026
In February, GETCO2 brought together our Chief Investigators for a dynamic two‑day workshop that set a strong direction for the year ahead and shaped plans for 2026. We received updates from the Centre’s research themes and flagship programs, and identified opportunities to strengthen collaboration across nodes to maximise impact.
Importantly, at the CI workshop our research leaders presented an overview of our recent Research Project Review, which mapped our EMCR projects to respective Research Themes and Flagship Programs, and identified key opportunities for collaboration. We thank our EMCRs for their contribution to ensuring effective oversight of the Centre research program.
We also spent time advancing key Centre priorities across our portfolios: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA), Engagement and Partnerships, and Capacity Building. These conversations will help guide the Centre’s focus as we continue building a strong, connected research community.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the workshop so valuable. Our CI workshops are always a strong reminder of the power of coming together in person to think, plan, and innovate!
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See our Activity Plan here >> |
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ISE Satellite Workshop
On 4 September 2026, GETCO2 will host the ISE 2026 Satellite Workshop on Good Practices for Experimental Testing of CO₂ Electrolyser Materials, Cells, and Systems. The workshop is held in conjunction with the 77th Annual ISE Meeting in Sydney, and will bring together researchers focused on advancing reliable, high‑quality methods for CO₂ and water electrolysis. Learn more about the program on our website.
Satellite Workshop Details
- Date: Friday, 4 September 2026
- Venue: The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane
- Registration deadline: 30 June 2026
- Capacity: Limited to 30 participants
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Register your interest >> |
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New resource page on getco2.org
We have made it easier to find the centre’s plans, policies, procedures and other useful resources on GETCO2’s website, which will be updated regularly with new resources. If you are looking for a particular resource currently not on the website, please let us know via getco2@uq.edu.au
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Find out more >> |
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EMCR Winter School in Melbourne
The next GETCO2 EMCR Winter School will take place in Melbourne in July this year. In particular, we are planning an in-person site visit to ANSTO to build on the online workshop to be held Monday 30th March. Invitations will be sent out soon.
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Australia-Japan Innovation Fund (AJIF) 2025-26 Grant
GETCO2 researchers and our collaborators from the University of Tokyo have been awarded the Australia-Japan Innovation Fund (AJIF) 2025-26 Grant of $100,000 for the project ‘ Electrochemical carbon capture and conversion for clean chemical futures’. The team is Professor Xiwang Zhang, Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa, Dr Kaige Sun and Dr Ifra Marriam from UQ, in collaboration with Professor Masakazu Sugiyama and Professor Tsutomu Minegishi from RCAST at the University of Tokyo.
This Australia-Japan partnership tackles climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and transforming it into formic acid, a versatile green fuel and industrial resource. By integrating capture and conversion into one seamless process, the team is developing the scalable technology needed to power a zero-emissions future and strengthen international clean energy ties.
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Find out more >> |
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ALLCO2 International Conference – save the date
The preparations for the International CO2 Alliance Conference (ALLCO2) are well underway!
Hosted by GETCO2, the conference will be held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, 1–4 th November 2026, with the theme, ‘ Global partnerships to tackle CO2 at scale’.
The conference website will be updated regularly with information about speakers, venue and program. Registration and call for abstracts are coming soon, so stay tuned!
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Conference website >> |
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ConASTA
This year, we will partner with 5 other ARC Centres of Excellence to exhibit at ConASTA in Brisbane, July 7–10, 2026. This annual conference is organised by the Australian Science Teachers Association, and is for Australian science educators, featuring professional development, workshops, and networking.
Along with GETCO2, you can meet the following ARC Centres of Excellence at ConASTA: Plants 4 Space, Plant Success, COMBS and Dark Matter.
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Find out more >> |
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Summer internships
Over the summer, GETCO2 researchers at the UQ Node hosted student interns who spent the semester break gaining hands‑on experience in a research environment. The students contributed to projects ranging from the design and testing of CO₂‑reduction electrolysers to computational studies examining how different cations influence CO₂ transport in electrolytes. Through laboratory work, molecular dynamics simulations, and guided mentoring, the interns developed practical technical skills, improved their approach to scientific problem‑solving, and gained insight into the research behind emerging carbon‑conversion technologies.
We hope that this experience inspires undergraduate students to explore a pathway in the science of CO₂ conversion.
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- My student Magnus Stroemme completed a 6-week summer internship from the start of 2026. We were able to test new methods for their applicability to the projects at GETCO2. The results made it a valuable use of the time I invested, and I would happily do it again!
Dr Luke Wylie
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- I worked with two summer research students, Sharon Di from China and Lachlan Bancroft from Brisbane, on a 6-week summer research project. I think it is worthwhile because it can enhance my leadership skills, and it also gives students insight into the lab, the research we do, and how we approach projects. I would gladly take on another intern in the future.
Dr Kaige Sun
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Reminder: MentorLoop - ARC CoE Mentoring Program
The 2026 mentoring program is open to all GETCO2 members, to be a mentor or a mentee. Connect with mentors and peers across 9 ARC Centres of Excellence, grow your skills, and share your expertise. Learn more about MentorLoop here and email us at getco2@uq.edu.au if you want to sign up!
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Find out more >> |
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New Centre members
We wish all our new centre members a big welcome to the GETCO2 community:
- Partner Investigator Prof Dongxia Liu, University of Delaware
- PhD Student Anheng Qi, The University of Queensland
- PhD Student Louise Grace Ardeta, The University of Queensland
- PhD Student Seyed Farhad Keivanimehr, The University of Queensland
- PhD Student Shweta Daagr, The University of Queensland
- Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr Min Liu, The University of Queensland
- PhD Student Kevin Cleary Wanta, The University of Queensland
- PhD Student Shuke Zhao, The University of Queensland
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Upcoming events
- 30 March 2026: GETCO2-ANSTO Australian Synchrotron Workshop, online
- 7-10 July 2026: ConASTA, Conference of the Australian Science Teachers Association, Brisbane
- July 2026 (Date TBC): GETCO2 Winter School, Melbourne
- 4 September 2026: GETCO2 ISE 2026 Satellite Workshop on Good practices for experimental testing of H2 and CO2 electrolyser materials, cells, and systems, UQ, Brisbane.
- 1-4 November 2026: ALLCO2 Conference 2026, Gold Coast
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The ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (GETCO2) is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.
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The ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which the Centre operates.
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