Unleash Innovation. Drive Impact. Shape the Future of CO₂ Electrolysis.
Are you ready to collaborate, learn, and push boundaries? Join the GETCO2 Hackathon Challenge! It isn’t just about finding the perfect solution — it’s about ambition, curiosity, and experimentation. Whether you’re an early-career researcher, PhD student or undergraduate student, this is your chance to make a difference.
Challenge
Identify one potentially high-impact innovation spanning materials and their associated supply chains required to support a future where sustainable gigawatt-scale manufacturing and deployment of Power-to-X CO2 electrolysers becomes a reality.
With your innovation, please consider the long-term economic, environmental and social groups sustainability surrounding the Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide. You may wish to explore techno-economic analysis (TEA), life cycle analysis (LCA),
overall circularity and potentially government policy settings as part of your analyses.
Who can join?
Build your team of 4–6 changemakers across disciplines and nodes:
• Must include EMCRs, AIs or HDR students
• Up to 2 undergrads from GETCO2 Nodes allowed
• Teams must span at least 2 different GETCO2 Nodes
• We celebrate diversity: bring your unique background, skills and perspectives!
We’ve got you covered
GETCO2 will support you every step of the way:
• Kickoff induction + Q&A
• Mentoring workshops
• Tools, templates & pitch guides
• Final presentation rubrics
• A dedicated mentor to guide your team
What’s in it for you?
• Prizes, recognition, and potential visibility with industry and investors
• Connections with leaders in research, innovation & commercialisation
• Real-world experience in shaping a sustainable future for CO₂ transformation
Thank you to our sponsors!
Evaluation focus
Judges will be looking for:
• Innovation & originality
• Impact potential & feasibility
• Smart analysis (TEA, LCA, circularity, policy)
• Teamwork & presentation
Timeline
• 22-25 July: Hackathon Launch (GETCO2 Winter school)
• 15 August: Submission deadline
• 26 August: Hackathon Session 1 (online) – Induction + Q&A – “Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Why Bother?”
• 8 September: Hackathon Session 2 (online) – Training and presentations – “The Power of Trans-disciplinary Teams, Business Modelling and Human-Centred Design – Useful Tools”
• 29 September: Hackathon Session 3 (online) –“Part A: How to present a successful pitch. Part B: From Hackathon to NetZero TEA Software Startup Lewi Software”
• 17 November: Hackathon workshops – Final training at the GETCO2 Conference, Sydney
• 18/19 November: Final Pitches and Awards at the GETCO2 Conference, Sydney
How do I sign up?
Email getco2@uq.edu.au, and we will help you find a team and get started!
FAQ
How will IP be managed during the Hackathon?
GETCO2 has an umbrella agreement that covers most participants. Those that are not covered will be asked to sign a simple IP management agreement.
How much time will participants need to invest?
The curriculum is NOT designed to be onerous. Rather, it is designed to be FUN and hugely-valuable for participants – in total, each team member should be contributing ~20-30 hours of their time over a period of 12 weeks.
Does my team need to prove their idea/concept with 100% experimental data?
Absolutely not! Your idea/concept does not need to be evidenced by experimental data. We suspect most teams will have some background data, but that a lot of the co-creation and ideation will not be based on experiments.
Can undergraduate students or AIs from universities outside GETCO2 Partner Organisations participate?
Yes. Students or any AI who has formally been associated with GETCO2 can participate (noting IP agreement rules above)
What is next?
Hackathon teams are currently being formed!
Check this website and look out for GETCO2 newsletters with more information about the Hackathon Challenge.