Op Ed: Innovative Hunter on front foot in the renewable world

Over 24 hours last week I helped launch construction of a low-carbon manufacturing facility on Kooragang Island, discussed growth plans with the great Tomago battery business, Energy Renaissance, and witnessed the launch of the passionate Hunter Community Alliance with hundreds of Novocastrians.

All this is a reminder (not that I needed one) that when it comes to a Future Made in Australia, the Hunter can be at the centre of the action.

We want Australia not only to make renewable energy, but to make the things that make renewable energy.

A lot of this can happen in the Hunter, drawing on the world-class University of Newcastle, local TAFEs and the CSIRO Energy Centre in Mayfield.

Countries are decarbonising their economies at a rapid rate.

The International Energy Agency estimates clean energy investment will need to triple by 2030, which they highlight creates opportunities for equipment manufacturers, service providers and clean energy technology developers.

It's a shift that can be advantageous for Australia, but only if we meet demand for new export industries each worth tens of billions of dollars a year – such as renewable hydrogen, critical minerals, batteries and green metals.

More sunlight hits our country than any other. Our wind (onshore and offshore) is above average.

We have abundant critical minerals. We have remarkable innovators.

Many people know that the modern solar panel was invented in Australia.

How many know the flow battery is also a product of the University of New South Wales?

Or that the only Australian battery that can be fully disassembled and recycled is made in Tomago from locally sourced materials?

But we can't take it for granted that Australia will capitalise on its advantages.

We have half the world's lithium reserves, but capture just 0.53 per cent of the lithium battery supply chain.

We can, and should, be doing more of the processing and manufacturing across supply chains onshore.

The Future Made in Australia, announced last week, is the government's plan for supporting local businesses to make the most of the opportunities ahead. It builds on work we've already started.

Hydrogen Headstart was announced last year and is progressing rapidly, with six companies shortlisted to kick-start a boom in Australia's green hydrogen industry, supporting future manufacturing and export opportunities.

Solar Sunshot, announced in March, is an essential ingredient to Aussie start-up SunDrive moving forward with AGL on plans to manufacture their world-leading solar cells in the Hunter.

This is a great Australian story – young Australian scientists producing the most efficient solar cell in the world (by swapping out silver for copper), looking to use world-leading energy and industrial know-how, to help set up local advanced manufacturing.

But Australia isn't alone in wanting a piece of the global net zero transformation.

Governments around the world are competing for the best companies and the most investment, making it harder for our companies to thrive in Australia, unless we step in.

For example, the US Government's Inflation Reduction Act, which is focused almost entirely on this decarbonisation opportunity, is estimated to have attracted more than $100 billion in investment and 80,000 jobs in just two years.

And, of course, Europe, Canada, Japan, and plenty of others have substantial investment packages to avoid the pull of investment in clean energy manufacturing moving from their countries to the US.

Employers, workers, conservation groups and productivity groups have all called on the federal government to step up and compete in this global race by incentivising renewable related manufacturing in Australia.

We agree. It's not an opportunity Australia or the Hunter can afford to miss, and it's not one we will.

Published in the Newcastle Herald