Sometimes, life doesn't work out as you'd expect. Sometimes, what might seem like a failure is actually an opportunity for success.

In this episode of The Innovators you'll meet two scientists whose own failed lab experiment led them to something, arguably, more exciting.

In early 2017, RMIT University academics Torben Daeneke and Kourosh Kalantar Zadeh released details of a "solar paint", one that uses the power of the sun to generate hydrogen from moisture in the air.

With hydrogen a potential source of renewable energy and countries such as South Korea and Japan shifting to a hydrogen-based future, could their discovery have implications for how we use hydrogen going forward?

For more on the future potential of hydrogen, go to arena.gov.au/blog

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.