The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has launched its $40 million National Industrial Transformation (NIT) Program, aimed at reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions at existing or planned industrial facilities in Australia.
The NIT Program is an update to the former Industrial Energy Transformation Studies Program (IETS), designed to more comprehensively support industrial decarbonisation. The program integrates with the recently launched $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS), allowing for industrial emissions abatement across Australia, as well as helping to expand the program scope to now include applications from the pre-feasibility, feasibility and FEED stages through to trial, demonstration and deployment activities.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said that unlike the ITS Program, the NIT Program is not constrained to regional, National Greenhouse Energy Reporting (NGER) facilities, and had expanded the type of applications that could be received.
“With industry accounting for approximately 44 per cent of Australian emissions, we need to target sectors such as agriculture, water, mining and manufacturing to assist them progress towards net zero. ARENA’s funding model is well placed to make a real impact,” said Miller.
Former IETS funding has now been reallocated to the NIT Program.
The objectives of National Industrial Transformation are to:
- Support industrial facilities in Australia to reduce emissions in line with Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction goals and transition to net zero by 2050;
- improve technology readiness and commercial readiness of renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency technologies and electrification technologies that will result in a significant reduction in scope 1 and/or scope 2 emissions or improve the energy efficiency of an industrial process or processes;
- encourage technology demonstration, collaboration and knowledge sharing across industry and regions;
- support upskilling of industrial workforce in new decarbonisation activities.
Both the Industrial Transformation Stream and the National Industrial Transformation Program are now open for applications.
