I have what looks to be a working solution for this, which I've also posted here:
4 options to change the current folder in Windows Explorer - Page 3 - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=526&p=153676#p153676
;links:
;Explorer Windows Manipulations - Page 5 - Scripts and Functions - AutoHotkey Community
;https://autohotkey.com/board/topic/19039-explorer-windows-manipulations/page-5#entry297581
;Navigate2 Method (IWebBrowser2)
;https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa752134(v=vs.85).aspx
;4 options to change the current folder in Windows Explorer - AutoHotkey Community
;https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=526
;windows - Navigate Shell command not working when the path includes an hash - Stack Overflow
;https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22868546/navigate-shell-command-not-working-when-the-path-includes-an-hash
;an AutoHotkey v1.1 script
;note: will create folder: %A_Desktop%\abc#def\abc#def
;q:: ;explorer - navigate to folder (tested on Windows 7)
WinGet, hWnd, ID, A
WinGetClass, vWinClass, % "ahk_id " hWnd
if !(vWinClass = "CabinetWClass") && !(vWinClass = "ExploreWClass")
return
vDir = %A_Desktop%\abc#def\abc#def
;vDir = %A_Desktop%\abc def\abc def
if !FileExist(vDir)
FileCreateDir, % vDir
DllCall("shell32\SHParseDisplayName", WStr,vDir, Ptr,0, PtrP,vPIDL, UInt,0, Ptr,0)
for oWin in ComObjCreate("Shell.Application").Windows
if (oWin.HWND = hWnd)
{
if !InStr(vDir, "#")
oWin.Navigate(vDir)
else
{
VarSetCapacity(SAFEARRAY, A_PtrSize=8?32:24, 0)
NumPut(1, SAFEARRAY, 0, "UShort")
NumPut(1, SAFEARRAY, 4, "UShort")
NumPut(vPIDL, SAFEARRAY, A_PtrSize=8?16:12, "Ptr")
NumPut(DllCall("shell32\ILGetSize", Ptr,vPIDL, UInt), SAFEARRAY, A_PtrSize=8?24:16, "Int")
oWin.Navigate2(ComObject(0x2011,&SAFEARRAY))
DllCall("shell32\ILFree", Ptr,vPIDL)
}
break
}
return