Darwin PhD student Jack Peden has been awarded the 2025 Helios Prize by the Department of Engineering, given annually since 2019 in recognition of research on sustainable energy or energy efficiency.
The prize acknowledges Jack’s co-authored paper, published in the journal Nature Energy, Production of hydrogen and carbon nanotubes from methane using a multi-pass floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition reactor with process gas recycling.
Jack and a team from both Cambridge and Stanford University modified a continuous-flow reactor and successfully converted methane (natural gas) into hydrogen with low CO2 emissions alongside high-performance carbon nanotube (CNT) materials. These CNTs can act as sustainable replacements for CO2-intensive materials such as steel, aluminium and copper. Their use has already been demonstrated in batteries and textiles, and they have the potential to be of further use in lightweight composites, building materials or high-voltage electrical cables.
“Winning the Helios Prize is a great honour,” said Jack, currently in his third year and a Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholar. “It is wonderful to see our work recognised as being impactful in the field of clean energy and energy efficiency.”
