Opening comment
by Chair: Dr Michael Barber

May I firstly join with the President in welcoming you all to the 2006 Academy AGM Symposium, ‘Science on the way to the hydrogen economy’.

It is my pleasure to open this Symposium by chairing the first session. It might be worth spending one minute on what I and the group of people who put the program together really decided we wanted to try and do.

This is not really about the technological issues of the hydrogen economy. It is not really about the political issues of the hydrogen economy. It is not even really about whether the hydrogen economy could feasibly be achieved. It is about the vision that is inherent in that hydrogen economy – and what the hydrogen economy is will be made a little clearer for you, hopefully, in a moment. But whatever that vision might be, the question is: what will we do scientifically to get there? Everybody who has thought and read and analysed it has come to the conclusion that we will simply not get there off our current scientific knowledge. So we are going to need to do some very, very exciting science to actually deliver whatever that hydrogen economy might be.

So one of the questions today is how we can, in fact, thinking about something very important for the globe, do some exciting science.

The second question, or message, is that we wanted to show that there were Australians that were contributing to that science that we needed to do. But, at the same time, we are in a global program, and so it is a wonderful opportunity to in fact link with some of the people who are heavily engaged in that program around the world.

I will say a little bit more about George Crabtree when we come to his talk. It is regrettable that Cathy Padro, who heads the program at Los Alamos, is unfortunately unable to be with us.

However, I hope you will find this an interesting program. I certainly found it interesting to put together, and I am sure that you will enjoy it.