$330m investment in Australian heavy industry future
24 April 2024
The Albanese Government is ensuring a future made in Australia – with a big funding boost for clean energy and emissions reduction projects at heavy industrial sites around the country.
Our Powering the Regions Fund is delivering $330 million to nine projects to keep Australian industry not just surviving but thriving, as demand for low emissions products grows around the world.
These nine projects will create hundreds of new jobs during construction and secure existing regional roles that have supported Australian families and communities for generations.
Minister Bowen was at Cement Australia’s century-old Railton facility in Tasmania today, to announce $52.9 million to upgrade their kiln and increase the use of alternative fuels such as waste to reduce emissions. Other projects backed by the Albanese Government include:
- $93 million for an energy efficiency upgrade at the QAL Alumina refinery in Gladstone, QLD
- $50 million to reduce emissions intensity at the Adbri cement manufacturing in Port Adelaide, SA
- $44 million for energy efficiency upgrades at Shoalhaven Starches food manufacturing in Nowra, nSW
- $35 million to power Murrin Murrin cobalt and nickel operations with renewables in Leonora, WA
- $32.9 million for emissions reduction at the CSBP chemical manufacturing facility in Kwinana, WA
- $15 million to electrify the Grange Resources Iron Ore mine in Savage River, Tas
- $5 million for fuel switching at the Grange Resources Iron Pellet plant in Port Latta, Tas
- $700, 000 for alternative fuel trial at Liberty metals manufacturing site in Bell Bay, Tas
Industries like cement, alumina, mining, iron and steel processing, chemicals manufacturing and food processing are all critical not only to Australia’s past but our future, which is why we’re investing in them for the long-term.
These projects will also cut 830,000 tonnes of emissions every year, equivalent to taking over a quarter of a million cars off Australian roads.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the grants would future-proof Australia’s heavy industries in a decarbonising world.
“This $330 million investment in Australia’s hard-to-abate manufacturing and mining facilities is about securing the future of high-quality, low-emissions products made right here,” Minister Bowen said.
“Northern Tasmania, Central Queensland and Western Australia have been industrial powerhouses for generations, and the Albanese Government is ensuring that continues.
“As global markets change rapidly – we’re supporting Australian industry to not only survive but thrive with our world-class products that support regional jobs across the country.”
Stream | Organisation | Project Name | Project | Grant | Location |
Safeguard Transformation Stream | CSBP Limited | N2O Reduction - Nitric Acid Ammonium Nitrate Tertiary Catalysts | Installation of tertiary catalysts to remove 98% of nitrous oxide emissions. | $32,945,365 | Kwinana (WA) |
Grange Resources (Tasmania) Pty Ltd | Electrification of Underground Operations at Savage River Iron Ore Mine | Mine will be electrified as part of transition from open cut to underground mine, reducing diesel use. | $15,000,000 | Savage River (TAS) | |
Grange Resources (Tasmania) Pty Ltd | Eliminating Anthracite Use in Furnaces at Port Latta Iron Pelletising Plant | Modification of four vertical shaft furnaces to enable shift from anthracite (coal) to natural gas. | $5,000,000 | Port Latta (TAS) | |
Murrin Murrin Operations Pty Ltd | Hybrid Renewable Energy Project | Supplement existing fossil fuel power sources with renewables and batteries. | $35,739,526 | Leonora (WA) | |
Shoalhaven Starches Pty Ltd | Recovering heat to enable transformative emission reductions at Shoalhaven | Deployment of heat recovery upgrades and enabling infrastructure to reduce gas consumption. | $44,457,114 | Nowra (NSW) | |
Liberty Bell Bay Pty Ltd | LBB Biocarbon project – Stage 1 | Trial to produce 500 tons of biocarbon (charcoal) to test as an alternative to coke in smelting process. | $766,612 | Bell Bay (TAS) | |
Critical Inputs to Clean Energy Industries – Cement, Lime, Alumina and Aluminium Sectors (CICEI – CLAAS) Stream | Cement Australia Holdings Pty Ltd | Railton Alternative Fuels Transformation | Upgrade of kiln and alternative fuel facilities to enable greater use of waste to reduce coal consumption, while also reducing waste going to landfill. | $52,874,500 | Railton (TAS) |
Adbri Limited | Birkenhead Vertical Roller Mill: Making More Domestic Lower Carbon Cement | Installation of vertical roller mills to increase production and reduce emissions intensity. | $50,000,000 | Port Adelaide (SA) | |
Queensland Alumina Limited | Double Digestion Project | Retrofit of a low temperature digestion circuit into QAL’s existing high temperature unit to reduce coal and gas consumption. | $93,979,069 | Gladstone (QLD) |
These projects include the first $134 million batch of the $600 million Safeguard Transformation Stream, which is currently open for further applications through the Business Grant Hub.