Oceania

Right now, there’s a global race underway. The goal: bring back manufacturing and energy jobs as the energy transition speeds up.

The Queensland government has entrenched the transformation of the state’s energy grid by passing laws locking in 80% renewable energy generation by 2035, a move it expects will create more than 100,000 new jobs in manufacturing, renewable energy generation, power transmission and industries of the future.

Development of an 800 mw / 9,600 MWh pumped hydro project within the New South Wales government’s Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone is advancing with renewables company Acen Australia announcing it has started geological works on site.

A smart phone, an app and new fleet management system are tools of choice for Queensland clean tech startup Evos Energy which has evolved its electric vehicle charging solutions to enable businesses to transition work and staff vehicles to electric.

New Zealand battery technology company ArcActive is planning to establish a manufacturing plant in Australia within 18 months that will be capable of producing 30,000 lead acid-based residential energy storage systems per year.

New South Wales-based clean energy company MGA Thermal has raised $5.7 million to prove the scale and industrial capabilities of its thermal energy storage technology that stores heat in blocks made largely from aluminium and graphite and dispatches it to generate electricity.

Australian clean energy and mobility company Pure Hydrogen is progressing with a multi-stage hydrogen plant and refuelling station development in Queensland with a green hydrogen baseline production of 420 kilograms per day.

Australian renewable energy businesses and technology manufacturers are in the box seat to play a pivotal role in the Asia Pacific region’s green economy transition but they have been urged to build their understanding of the market landscape so they are equipped to seize the opportunities on offer.

Two major critical minerals projects in Queensland and South Australia are to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government loans as the Commonwealth seeks to deliver the building blocks for a ‘future made in Australia.’

Renewables developer Vast Solar has inked key engineering contract as it pushes towards construction of a 30 MW concentrated solar thermal power plant with more than eight hours of energy storage capacity near Port Augusta in South Australia.