ARENA launches US$28 million programme to decarbonise Australian industrial sector

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
ARENA has invested in a range of schemes that are exploring how Australia can decarbonise its society while driving down the cost of energy. Image: ARENA

Australia’s Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has launched a AUS$43 million (US$27.7 million) Industrial Energy Transformation Studies Program aimed at identifying opportunities to reduce energy costs and emissions in the country’s industrial sector.

Announced as part of Australia’s 2020-21 Federal Budget, the programme is the latest in a series of grant funding ARENA has provided Australian organisations as it looks to drive down the cost of renewable generation and slash its emissions.  

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Funding will be provided in two streams to support feasibility studies and engineering studies in order to establish the business case for replicable projects that demonstrate energy efficiency and renewable energy technology solutions for industry, ARENA said in a statement.

It will be made available to companies and organisations in the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, gas supply, water supply, waste services and data centre sectors, all of which are high emission and hard to abate sectors.

“Renewable energy adoption by industry can also be supported with energy storage including batteries, thermal and material storage and technologies that enable greater flexibility and responsiveness of energy demand, such as digitalisation and enhanced controls,” ARENA said.

“Whether it’s by integrating renewable energy into existing processes or increasing energy efficiency to minimise energy demand and cost, the Industrial Energy Transformation Studies Program will identify credible and innovative solutions to the challenge of reducing emissions in industry,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller.

And this is not the only scheme ARENA is supporting. In June, it invested US$31 million in the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) to support its solar research through to 2030, while in January it announced it was providing AU$40 million in funding to support research and development (R&D) that can help Australia reach its ‘ultra-low cost solar’ goal.

On top of this, ARENA has previously funded a number of projects aimed at reducing emissions in the industrial sector, including A2EP’s Renewable Energy for Process Heat Opportunity study, Shell Energy’s Advancing Renewables in the Manufacturing Sector studies  program and ClimateWorks’ Energy Transition Initiative program to accelerate decarbonisation across the whole industrial supply chain.

Meanwhile, Australia’s renewable sector has been boosted recently by the election of its new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in May who has pledged to make the country a renewables “superpower” and has locked in Australia’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2050.

Applicants to the Industrial Energy Transformation Studies Program can seek AUS$100,000 to AUS$500,000 (US$65,000-322,000) for feasibility studies or AUS$250,000 to AUS$5 million (US$161,000-3.2 million) for engineering studies.

Read Next

July 17, 2025
Corporate funding in the solar sector fell by 39% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year.
July 17, 2025
Swedish solar developer OX2 has submitted plans for a 150MW solar-plus-storage project in Queensland to Australia’s EPBC Act.
July 17, 2025
Pilecom, a mechanical installer of utility-scale solar projects, has officially started work on European Energy’s 106MW Lancaster solar PV power plant in Victoria, Australia.
July 16, 2025
Planning uncertainty and policy instability regarding renewables in Queensland have seen it slip in investment attractiveness, with New South Wales now leading Australia.
July 16, 2025
The New South Wales government has announced AU$26.2 million in funding for several Australian solar PV and battery initiatives.
July 15, 2025
Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has announced plans to run four new Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) tenders by the end of 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK