Dr Daniel Roberts

Research Director

https://people.csiro.au/R/D/Daniel-Roberts/

PO BOX 883
KENMORE QLD 4069 AUSTRALIA

Biography

Daniel leads CSIRO's Energy Technologies Research Program, a multidisciplinary portfolio of research, development, and demonstration activities in areas related to hydrogen and carriers, solar PV and solar thermal, energy storage, CO2 capture and use, bioenergy, sustainable fuels, and supporting modelling and engagement work. The Program has staff working across sites in Brisbane, Newcastle, Canberra, and Melbourne, and focus on bringing quality science and technologies to supporting the transition to net-zero emissions.

Daniel has worked in a range of different roles in CSIRO - most recently as the lead of the Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform. Prior to the FSP role, Daniel led the High Efficiency Thermal and Electrochemical Technologies research group within CSIRO Energy. He continues to play a senior role in CSIRO’s research activities in the area of biomass and waste gasification for the production of sustainable fuels, hydrogen, and industrial energy sources.

Daniel has more than 25 years' experience in the study of the fundamentals of gasification and combustion and their application to industrial systems, and has worked on industrial-scale gasification campaigns in Japan, Germany and the US. He has a background in environmental chemistry (Macquarie University) and chemical engineering (the University of Newcastle). During his postdoctoral studies Daniel worked as a visiting researcher with the Central Research Institute of the Electric Power Industry in Japan, as part of the team providing the R&D support to the development of Japan's first IGCC power generation demonstration plant.

Daniel's first CSIRO experiences were as a Summer Vacation Scholar with the Emissions group at North Ryde, and then as a PhD student in the Combustion and Gasification Group, also at North Ryde. He formally joined CSIRO in 2001 as a postdoc, and moved to Brisbane in 2002 as part of the commissioning of the flagship gasification research facility at the QCAT laboratories.

Professional Areas

Fields of Research

Current

Former

Current Roles

Research Director, Energy Technologies
Daniel leads CSIRO's RD&D activities across a range of renewable and low-carbon areas, setting and implementing the Program's strategy in support of the Energy Business vision of 'catalysing the energy transition'.
HILTCRC
Daniel leads CSIRO's participation in the Heavy Industry Low-Carbon Transition CRC (HILTCRC), sitting on the CRC's Steering Committee, and working alongside core industry and research partners to address decarbonisation challenges for the heavy industry sector.
IEA Bioenergy Task 36
Daniel participates in IEA Bioenergy Task 36 'Material and Energy Valorisation of Waste in a Circular Economy'. In this role, Daniel works with representatives from Sweden, Norway, Italy, South Africa, USA, Germany, and Ireland to explore international best practice in this area to support integration of waste management and energy recovery with circular economy principles.

Academic Qualifications

2020

Company Directors Course
Australian Institute of Company Directors
2018

Certificate in Executive Management and Development
UNSW Business School
2000

PhD, Chemical Engineering
University of Newcastle
1996

BTech (Hons), Chemistry
Macquarie University
1995

BTech (Environmental Geochemistry)
Macquarie University

Professional Experiences

2018-2021

Leader, Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform
CSIRO
2014-2018

Research Group Leader
CSIRO Energy
2012--

Principal Research Scientist
CSIRO Energy
2013-2014

Stream Leader, Gasification and Syngas Technologies
CSIRO Energy Flagship
2007-2014

Research Group Leader
CSIRO Energy Technology
2009-2013

Stream Leader
CSIRO Advanced Coal Technology
2007-2012

Senior Research Scientist, Gasification and Combustion
CSIRO Energy Technology
2004-2007

Research Scientist, Gasification and Combustion
CSIRO Energy Technology
2001-2004

Postdoctoral Research Scientist
CSIRO Energy Technology
2000-2001

Visiting Researcher
CRIEPI (Japan)
2000-2001

Postdoctoral Fellow
CRC for Black Coal Utilisation

Community and Corporate Citizenship

2019-2021

National Task Leader, IEA Bioenergy Task 36
2020-Present

Steering Committee member, CSIRO Hydrogen Industry Mission
2021-2021

International Steering Committee member, International Forum on Hydrogen Production Technologies (HyPT-2)
2021-2022

Steering Committee member, HiTeMP-3
2019-Present

Member, Bioenergy Australia's Circular Economy Network
2020-Present

Editorial Board Member, Fuels
2016-2017

Special Issue Guest Editor, Fuel
2013-Present

International Vice Chair (Australia), Pittsburgh Coal Conference
2014-Present

Scientific committee member, International Symposium on Gasification and its Applications
2004-Present

Peer reviewer for Fuel, Energy and Fuels, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Biomass and Bioenergy, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, J Tech Innovations in Renewable Energy, and Fuel Processing Technology
2018-2019

Member, Bioenergy Australia's Municipal Solid Waste Task Force
2009-Present

Member, American Chemical Society (inc Div Fuel Chemistry).
2004-Present

Member, Chartered Chemist, Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI)
1998-Present

Member, Australian Institute of Energy
2013-Present

Member, Waste Management Association of Australia
2014-2019

Advisory Board Member, International Freiberg Conference on IGCC and XtL Technologies
2013

Technical committee member, 2013 Australian Symposium on Combustion