This project 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.

It 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 for high-temperature industrial processes
• include assessments in hub locations in Bell Bay / Northern Tasmania, Upper Spencer Gulf (SA), Pilbara (WA), Port Hedland (WA), Kwinana / South West (WA) and Port Kembla (NSW).

Thorough, bottoms-up scenario-based energy supply-and-demand projections will model integrated electricity, hydrogen and green heat supply chains; infrastructure assessment; and stakeholder engagement. These models will optimise parameters such as energy utilisation, minimum investment, sustainability and reliable supply for industrial operations.

The project builds on RP 2.006 Hydrogen supply within HILT regional hubs – H₂ cost and synergistic opportunities, which focused on hydrogen alone.

• Economic modelling of the low-carbon transition on the Australian economy
• Supply chain development, commercial pathways, commercialisation benefit assessments

• Energy demand and supply projections and modelling that will unlock the potential for co-investment and support the transition to a low-emissions future.
• Increased ability to accurately predict future energy demand patterns, which can be used by heavy industries to implement measures to lower overall energy costs.
• Increased understanding of how to optimise energy supply and demand for the types of energy and infrastructure anticipated to be most relevant, in ways that minimise investment or otherwise increase commercial viability.
• Increased understanding of the total system costs and risks of the various potential options for integrating renewable energy sources such as electricity and hydrogen into the supply chain and their impact on carbon emissions as well as alignment with sustainability goals and associated regulatory requirements.
• Improved understanding of energy supply-and-demand dynamics that will enable identification of potential energy supply vulnerabilities and hence implementation of measures to maintain energy security.
• Insights from analysis of the energy supply-and-demand model and different scenarios, which can be used to inform policies and incentives to support the transition of Australia’s energy system and heavy industry.
• Improved resilience and future-proofing of energy infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of heavy industry by incorporating scenarios and technology developments into predicting future energy supply and demand trends.

RP3.007 Project Summary – Unlocking investment in energy infrastructure for net-zero industrial hubs