Quinbrook says time critical for Future Made in Australia

Renewables player Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has lauded the newly legislated Future Made in Australia Bill as a critically important initiative that can position Australia at the core of global clean energy supply chains.

December 2, 2024 David Carroll

Image: Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners

The Future Made in Australia legislative package has passed through Parliament as part of the federal government’s plan to spur local manufacturing and development in renewable energy technologies and the critical minerals sector.

Federal Parliament on Friday legislated the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 and its two supporting bills. These bills establish the voluntary Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme that is intended to present the emissions reality of renewable energy and decarbonised products.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the bills will be the framework on which the next stage of the legislative package, including production tax incentives for critical minerals and hydrogen, is built.

Bowen said the bills will improve Australia’s investment environment and help local manufacturers and producers remain competitive in new and emerging domestic and global markets.

“This legislative package helps put our Future Made in Australia agenda into action, so we make the most of the major economic and industrial opportunities of the energy transformation,” he said.

“It will provide Australian businesses and investors with the regulatory certainty to support and encourage investment through a high-integrity certificate scheme that makes sure that renewable energy and decarbonised products can be properly valued.”

Quinbrook co-founder and Managing Partner David Scaysbrook said the Future Made in Australia initiative is critically important to ensure the country plays a role in future global supply chains for the energy transition.

Scaysbrook said current supply chains are facing seismic shifts driven by a range of geo-political and trade-related factors which are likely to accelerate and intensify.

“There is an acute competition underway amongst countries on multiple continents vying to host new supply chain related manufacturing capacity supported aggressively by their respective national governments,” he said.

“Australia has many comparative advantages these countries don’t enjoy. We either choose to seize the day now or squander this opportunity for decades to come. We believe Future Made in Australia enables us to attract the world’s leading manufacturers to our shores and establish the high-value industries of the future.”

Quinbrook is engaged in the development of multiple renewable energy projects across Australia, including the massive Sun Cable solar and battery project planned for the Northern Territory, and a polysilicon production plant in north Queensland to supply solar panel and battery manufacturers.

Scaysbrook said the company is in talks with multiple suppliers and it is critical that Australia moves quickly to ensure it has a place in clean energy supply chains for not only Australia, but also North America and Europe.

“Quinbrook is engaged with leading solar and battery manufacturers who are deciding right now where to locate their manufacturing hubs for the next 20-30 years,” he said. “Once these decisions are made, the world’s new supply chains for the energy transition will be set. This is why time is of the essence.”

Brian Restall, Quinbrook’s Australia Managing Director and Regional Leader, said the nation’s natural resources, infrastructure, manufacturing expertise and proximity to key customer markets can position the country at the core of alternate clean energy supply chains for not only Australia, but also North America and Europe.

He said the scope of these solutions is broad and includes green metals, high-grade silicon, polysilicon for PV wafers and cells, critical minerals and rare earths processing of key inputs for solar and battery equipment manufacture.

“For too long, Australia has been a ‘dig and ship’ exporter that has missed out on creating the value-adding industries that our trading partners have seized upon instead of us,” he said. “Future Made in Australia is a step in the right direction to help Australia compete as a host destination for this critical manufacturing capacity.”

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