Australia’s next big export industry could be its sunlight and wind.

Australia could soon be providing renewable hydrogen as a vehicle fuel into Asia and Europe, ABC Radio Australia reports. 

The key is a metal membrane developed by CSIRO that allows high-purity vehicle grade hydrogen to be separated from ammonia. CSIRO principal research scientist Michael Dolan says the technology, now being trialled on an industrial scale in Australia, was "the missing link" that allowed hydrogen to be transported and used as an energy source.

"One of the great problems with hydrogen is that it's difficult to transport over long distances because it has such a low density," he told ABC News.

The new approach uses ammonia to transport the hydrogen because it has a higher hydrogen density than liquid hydrogen. The new CSIRO technology is then used to convert the ammonia back into hydrogen for use as a transport fuel.