HILT CRC ANNUAL CONFERENCE
THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER TO FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER 2026
National Wine Centre, Adelaide
HILT at halfway – 5 years for lasting impact
PROGRAM
The program will be updated as speakers and sessions are confirmed.
PHOTO GALLERY
GUEST SPEAKERS
Senator the Hon Tim Ayres – Minister for Industry and Innovation, Minister for Science
Raised on his family’s beef cattle farm on the north coast of New South Wales, Senator Tim Ayres completed high school in Glen Innes before studying industrial relations at the University of Sydney.
His upbringing and education shaped a deep commitment to regional Australia and emphasised the importance of empowering regional communities with future-focused industries.
Before entering Parliament, Senator Ayres held several senior elected positions in the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, where he championed the rights of workers across key sectors including manufacturing, defence, food processing, aviation and metals.
Elected as a Senator for New South Wales in 2019, Senator Ayres held the roles of Assistant Minister for Trade, Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Assistant Minister for a Future Made in Australia.
Senator Ayres has consistently advocated for strong, sovereign manufacturing capability and secure, well-paid jobs.
In 2025, Senator Ayres was named as the Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science in the Albanese Labor Government.
Through his ministerial portfolio, Senator Ayres will continue to collaborate with industry, workers and communities to harness the transformative power of new technologies and drive investment in science, innovation and advanced manufacturing.
Senator Ayres is focused on seizing emerging opportunities to ensure the jobs and industries of the future are created and sustained right here in Australia, as part of the Future Made in Australia agenda.
The Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP – Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Mining, Minister for Public Sector, South Australia – dinner speaker
The Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP was elected to the South Australian Parliament at just 26 years of age, making him one of the youngest Members of Parliament in the State’s history.
He is now the longest-serving MP in the South Australian Parliament, having been re-elected by his community for 29 years as the Member for West Torrens.
Tom currently serves as Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Mining, Minister for Public Sector, and Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly. Over his distinguished career, he has also held a broad range of senior portfolios, including Correctional Services, Youth and Volunteers, Gambling, Small Business, State Development, and Transport and Infrastructure.
Tom was raised in Adelaide’s western suburbs by his Greek migrant parents, Tony and Toula. He attended Cowandilla and Netley Primary Schools before completing his secondary education at Adelaide High School. He later studied at the University of Adelaide.
He joined the Australian Labor Party at a young age, inspired by Labor stalwart and former Deputy Premier, the late Jack Wright.
Before entering Parliament, Tom worked as a union advocate with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA), and later in the office of then Shadow Attorney-General Michael Atkinson.
Gretta Theobald Stephens – Member, Climate Change Authority
Keynote address: Why climate ambition matters for Australia’s industrial future
Gretta Theobald Stephens is a highly experienced executive in the heavy industry sector, having worked for over 35 years in heavy industry in Australia and New Zealand with Rio Tinto, Alcoa and BlueScope.
As Chief Executive of New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter and later Chief Executive of BlueScope’s New Zealand & Pacific Islands business unit, she led businesses navigating their climate and sustainability impacts, the role of large industrial users in the energy system, and the significance of the policy environment.
In 2021, Gretta became BlueScope’s first Chief Executive, Climate Change & Sustainability, developing its global decarbonisation roadmap.
Gretta has long had a passion for heavy industry, recognising its strategic importance and value creation for communities and nations. In recent roles she has been dedicated to advancing the enablers necessary for sustaining these industries through the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Beyond her executive leadership, Gretta has actively contributed to government, industry and community initiatives, serving on the NZ Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council, NZ Business and Parliamentary Trust Board, Advisory Committee to the Electricity Authority Board, and Chamber of Commerce Board. She has also been an engaged voice in public discussions on industrial decarbonisation.
Having recently transitioned from full-time corporate life, Gretta continues to drive climate action as a Member of the Australian Climate Change Authority.
Gretta is an alumna of Monash University, holding a BSc in Chemistry & Materials Science and a BE in Materials Engineering (Hons).
Dr Rizwan Janjua – Head of Technology, World Steel Association (worldsteel)
Dr Rizwan Janjua is Head of Technology at worldsteel and is responsible for leading activities in the field of process technology, energy efficiency, and CO2 breakthrough. He is secretary to the worldsteel Technology Committee and convener of the Breakthrough Technology Conference. He leads the StepUp Program, which aims to improve the efficiency levels of mill operations commensurate with the steel industry’s top performers for emissions and energy intensity using existing proven installed technology and best practices.
Dr Janjua has represented the steel industry in technical discussions on energy and climate change at the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He has acted as a reviewer for multiple major technical reports. He holds a PhD in Material Sciences from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany.
Jason You – Manager Strategy Operations, CM Group
Jason You Operations Manager at CM Group, a privately owned research and advisory firm specialising in the analysis of global base and minor metals industries. Jason holds a Master of Engineering Science in Metallurgy from Curtin University WASM, a Master of Engineering in Mining from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Mineral Processing from Central South University.
Jason began his career as a project assistant on the Bungalow Iron Ore Project with Baotou Iron and Steel, gaining early exposure to mineral resource development and project evaluation. He subsequently joined CM Group, where his work spans commodity market research, industry analysis, project management and strategic consulting, with a particular focus on the global bauxite, alumina and aluminium value chains.
His expertise covers global supply and demand dynamics, production economics, international trade and industry competitiveness. Jason has undertaken numerous on-the-ground research visits to mining and processing operations across Guinea, Indonesia and Australia, developing first-hand insights into production practices, operational challenges and regional industry developments.
At CM Group, Jason also oversees project delivery and new business development, working with mining and metals producers, trading houses, financial institutions and other industry stakeholders to deliver industry research, market intelligence and strategic advisory services.
Chris Page – General Manager, NeoSmelt, and Head of Future Technologies, Bluescope
Industry keynote: A steelmaker’s perspective on decarbonising the iron and steel value chain
Chris Page has more than 30 years’ experience in the steel manufacturing and resources sector, having held senior executive leadership roles across BlueScope’s Australian, New Zealand and international businesses.
Since joining BlueScope in 1993, Chris has led operations across ironmaking, steelmaking, engineering, manufacturing and processing, including executive leadership roles at Port Kembla Steelworks and New Zealand Steel, responsibility for manufacturing excellence across BlueScope, leadership of BlueScope’s Springhill business, and a Director of the Tata BlueScope Steel joint venture in India.
In 2021, Chris was appointed Head of Future Technologies, leading BlueScope’s portfolio of future steelmaking technologies and decarbonisation initiatives. In 2025, he was appointed General Manager of the NeoSmelt Joint Venture, where he leads the collaboration between BlueScope, BHP, Mitsui Iron Ore Development, Rio Tinto and Woodside Energy to develop a world-first low-emissions ironmaking pilot plant in Western Australia.
Chris leads the NeoSmelt Joint Venture through the feasibility phase, overseeing one of Australia’s most significant industrial decarbonisation initiatives. Supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Western Australian Government, the project aims to demonstrate an innovative direct reduced iron–electric smelting furnace (DRI–ESF) pathway using Pilbara iron ore to accelerate the decarbonisation of ironmaking.
HiTeMP-5
📅 Tuesday 20 October – Wednesday 21 October
📍National Wine Centre, Adelaide
Adelaide University’s Centre for Energy Technology and HILT CRC co-hosted the Fifth International Forum on High Temperature Minerals Processing (HiTeMP-5) immediately before the HILT CRC Annual Conference.
Industry leaders, researchers and policymakers gathered to discuss the latest advances, challenges and opportunities shaping the transition to net-zero emissions in high-temperature industrial processes.
HiTeMP-5 tour to Sparc Hydrogen
📅 Monday 19 October
This year’s HiTeMP-5 tour visited Sparc Hydrogen’s pilot facility at Roseworthy.
The tour provides an opportunity to learn about Sparc’s innovative approach to green hydrogen production using photocatalytic water splitting and solar energy. Participants heard about the technology being developed and the research and demonstration activities underway at the site.
2025 CONFERENCE VIDEO
Watch (or view the 2025 photo gallery) to get a taste of our 2025 conference in Perth.