ARENA boosts funding and names winners for green hydrogen, iron and steel projects

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced a big lift in funding for research into renewable hydrogen and green iron and steel projects, and announced 21 winning projects that will conduct R&D on the technologies.

Specifically, ARENA will award $59.1 million in funding across 21 research projects to support both the research and development (R&D) and commercialisation of renewable hydrogen and low emissions iron and steel research.

Two funding rounds – Renewable Hydrogen and Iron & Steel – were initially provided $25 million each, but Arena sats it has boosted the total funding to $59.1 million due to the number and quality of the applications.

It has made grants of between $1.3 million and $5 million to research teams at some of Australia’s leading universities, research organisations, start-ups, and companies, for projects which have a total value of $203 million.

“We’re backing Australian technological innovation that helps build our clean industries and underpins our ambitions of becoming a renewable energy superpower,” said Darren Miller, the CEO of Arena.

“Arena has a strong track record in funding and supporting early-stage innovation. Through our strategic priorities, we have highlighted the importance of renewable hydrogen and low emissions metals growing to become a significant export industry.

“Innovation starts in the lab, and we have the best minds taking our decarbonisation efforts to the next level – to the benefit of all Australians through jobs, lower emissions and cheaper energy.”

The winners include innovative green hydrogen companies such as Hysata, various new electrolyser technologies, and one proposal – put forward by Curtin University – to export hydrogen as a powder.

There are a number of different proposals to advance the transition to green iron and green steel, with the biggest recipient being Fortescue Future Industry’s plan to use low temperature technologies to produce green iron. It will receive $5 million to support a $42.6 million project.

Australia is the world’s largest exporter of iron ore, supplying up to 53% of international exports each year, so efforts to find a zero carbon route will be valuable to the efforts to cut global emissions.

Arena says its investment in low emissions iron and steel research is aimed at supporting a “step change in emissions abatement pathways in the production of iron and steel”.

The successful applicants, as well as their respective projects and funding, are listed below.

Iron & Steel R&D Funding Round

Hydrogen R&D Funding Round