H2Q: LAVO™ Hydrogen BBQ

LAVO™ and D+I have worked to produce the Hydrogen-Powered Portable BBQ concept — bringing the H2Q innovation out of UNSW research labs and into a commercially functional prototype. The LAVO™ Portable BBQ functions in a unique manner by relying on heat exchange technology, a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to create heat and disperse it to the hotplate. This solution delivers a barbeque that operates without flames, only producing heat and steam as a by-product, the portable BBQ hotplate can reach 200 degrees Celsius.

Hydrogen is the most commonly occurring element in nature, unlike fossil fuels, it will never deplete the earth’s natural resources. Many portable barbeques are powered by gas or charcoal (big contributors to climate change), whilst hydrogen is a clean alternative fuel source, releasing only water vapour when converted in a fuel cell.The core of the H2Q BBQ is the LAVO™ patented metal hydride (a metallic alloy that increases the density of stored hydrogen), formulated by the research team at the University of New South Wales, enabling a safe, commercially viable and clean technology for integration into consumer products like the H2Q for the very first time.

Without coals or burners, the barbeque is only 40 centimetres high and is portable enough to take to the beach or place on the balcony. H2Q is powered by removable LAVO™ Hydride Storage Vessels, the vision for the system imagines a ‘Swap-and-Go’ system similar to the current gas bottle approach, with the intention of storage vessel vending machines being rolled out across a nation. In the future, LAVO™ is looking at how to integrate a family of Hydrogen-Powered products into a seamless experience. Imagine removing two vessels from a home-based LAVO™ Hydrogen Battery Storage System, plugging these into H2Q to fire up the hotplate, when the meal is cooked and the energy is consumed, simply return the vessels to the home system to be recharged by the rooftop solar array.

“As a global community we are experiencing the undeniable impact that climate change has had on our environment and we are proud to be a part of the global shift toward a cleaner, greener society. With the fantastic support of Australian state and federal governments, as well as many others around the world, we believe that hydrogen storage technology has a very bright future with a wide variety of everyday applications.”

- Alan Yu, CEO and Executive Director of LAVO™

Learn more - visit lavo.com.au →