Heavy industry – particularly in the iron and steel, alumina and cement sectors – has identified affordable clean energy as the key to its decarbonisation. In response, the Heavy Industry Low-Carbon Transition Co-operative Research Centre (HILT CRC) has launched a flagship three-year project on energy infrastructure.
The project will provide clear, data-driven estimates of energy costs to inform government policy and enable heavy industry to plan its decarbonisation pathway.
‘Unlocking investment in energy infrastructure for net-zero industrial hubs’ aims to identify optimal and economically efficient energy supply options – including hydrogen, electricity and natural gas – for the industrial hubs that will be needed for Australia to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
Led by CSIRO Senior Research Scientist Dr Tara Hosseini, the project will:
- consider different regionally specific scenarios for transitioning energy supply and heavy industry demand
- develop cost-optimised evaluations of the energy infrastructure needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The new project builds on work that focused on hydrogen alone, and which earned Dr Hosseini the 2024 HILT CRC Award for Best Contribution to De-risking and Accelerating Decarbonisation.
Twelve HILT CRC partners are involved in the project: industry participants Grange Resources, Fortescue, South32, Liberty Steel, BlueScope, Energy Exemplar and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), and research participants CSIRO, Curtin University, Swinburne University of Technology, The Australian National University and the University of Adelaide.
Underscoring the importance of developing clean energy infrastructure, AEMO has recently joined HILT CRC as an Associate Partner.
AEMO manages the electricity and gas systems and markets across Australia, helping to ensure Australians have access to affordable, secure and reliable energy, while actively working to solve key challenges in Australia’s shift to low-emissions energy.
HILT CRC CEO Jenny Selway said that AEMO brings invaluable operational and energy systems expertise to HILT CRC.
“AEMO will contribute its experience and skills in areas of energy infrastructure needed to drive the heavy industry energy transition,” she said.
“The operator’s extensive experience in managing Australia’s energy systems and markets, along with its planning and forecasting work, will be a valuable addition to not only this new project, but also HILT CRC’s broader efforts to advance low-carbon technologies for heavy industry.”
HILT CRC brings together more than 60 industry, research and government organisations to perform collaborative research dedicated to developing and demonstrating low-carbon technologies that will help the steel, iron, alumina and cement industries decarbonise heavy industry, create jobs and grow the economy.
HILT CRC’s new project on heavy industry’s energy infrastructure needs will inform Australia’s pathway to net-zero carbon emissions.
Media contact
Adam Barclay, Communications and Marketing Manager, HILT CRC
Mobile: +61 405 357 468, email adam.barclay@hiltcrc.com.au