Dr Gule Li is a researcher at the Centre for Energy Technology (CET), Adelaide University, whose research focuses on practical pathways for decarbonising energy-intensive industries through clean energy technologies and process innovation. Her research spans waste and biomass conversion, low-emission hydrogen production and utilisation, and hydrogen-based transformation of high-temperature industrial processes. She combines experimental research, reactor development, process modelling, techno-economic assessment and supply-chain analysis to evaluate emerging technologies and their integration into industrial systems, with applications in iron and steel, alumina, cement and minerals processing.
 
Dr Li is the lead entrepreneur and project lead of the AEA Ignite project Catalytic Hydrogen Production via Pyrolysis (CHyPP), which advances methane pyrolysis for low-emission hydrogen production alongside valuable solid carbon products. Her work focuses on catalyst and reactor development, technology scale-up and carbon product utilisation. She also co-leads an ARENA-funded project on large-scale hydrogen-based ironmaking using Australian iron ores, investigating the technical feasibility of hydrogen-based fluidised-bed direct reduction and subsequent processing of lower-grade ores to produce low-emission iron products for international markets. Through HILT CRC projects, Dr Li leads and contributes to research on producing hydrogen-rich syngas from refuse-derived fuel for application in cement, alumina and iron production, as well as techno-economic and technical assessment of low-carbon alumina calcination through hydrogen and electrification. Her earlier work assessed hydrogen substitution for coke and natural gas in an integrated multi-metals recovery plant.
 
Across these activities, Dr Li works at the interface of fundamental research, engineering development and industrial application to develop practical decarbonisation pathways for hard-to-abate industries. She also contributes to research leadership through the CET Management Committee and the HiTeMP organising committee.