NSW announces grants to help big manufacturers slash emissions

The New South Wales state government has announced it will support four of the state’s highest emitting manufacturers to transition into low-carbon facilities.

Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean said the companies are chemical manufacturer Orica, metal manufacturer Tomago Aluminium, cement producer Boral and starch manufacturer Manildra Group.

The combined $855,000 in funding will be matched by contributions from each of the four companies, and will assist in studies, trials, business case development and deployment.

“We are working with industry to transform NSW into an innovative, thriving low carbon economy. Accelerating the deployment of deep decarbonisation technology will help industry prosper in a net zero economy and open up new markets for NSW-made products,” Kean said.

“The studies focus on how we can adopt cutting edge clean technology right here in NSW like green hydrogen in cement manufacturing or renewable energy in aluminium smelting.

“These facilities combined emit more than 10 million tonnes of carbon every year, equivalent to the emissions of more than 3.5 million cars. Helping them slash emissions is critical to the success of reaching our targets of 70 per cent emissions reduction by 2035 and net zero by 2050.”

Most of these companies will be obliged to reduce their emissions by 5% every year to 2030, under the Federal Government’s proposed changes to the Safeguard Mechanism.

The Mechanism is a policy, under the auspices of the Clean Energy Regulator, that requires Australia’s largest greenhouse gas polluters – those that produce more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year – to keep their emissions below a baseline.

In January, the Albanese government announced it planned to make sweeping changes to the Mechanism, including progressively lowering the baselines – those changes are currently under consultation, and could come into effect from July this year.