The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced a total of $50 million for two funding rounds that will support research and development (R&D) into low-emission iron and steel and renewable hydrogen. The funding will be distributed over two phases, with the first phase focusing on laboratory research and the second phase helping to scale up and demonstrate successes. Each fundraising round will be given a $25 million financing, and funding for chosen candidates is anticipated to be in the $500,000 to $5 million range.
The hydrogen round will finance two streams: one that will look at ways to enhance and optimise the production of renewable hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives, and another that will look at ways to look into storage and distribution solutions. Iron and steel account for more than 7 per cent of global emissions with technological innovation vital to the industry achieving net zero emissions.
In January 2023, ARENA announced up to $40 million in financing for R&D to help the government meet its ultra-low-cost solar goal. The R&D funding round will build on ARENA’s prior R&D investment in solar PV, with a focus on projects that fit with the ‘Solar 30 30 30’, target of 30 per cent module efficiency and 30 cents per installed watt at utility scale by 2030.
