ARENA Archives - Renew Economy

Storage

“Hot bricks” heat battery to electrify Rio Tinto aluminium refinery in world-first project
Plans to build one of the world’s biggest industrial heat battery projects win Arena funding, to determine whether “hot bricks” can slash aluminium refinery emissions.
Sophie Vorrath

Oct 21, 2026

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Wind

Laser tech could slash grid penalties for wind farms, because their forecasts are less wrong at the right times
A study tested two wind forecast models and found that more accurate one does not mean more savings.
Rachel Williamson

Oct 20, 2026

1
Solar

Australia can still become a giga-scale solar manufacturer, says Arena, as it flags new local PV maker
Australian Renewable Energy Agency says the country can still become a major solar PV manufacturer, says deal with new supplier in the pipeline.
Sophie Vorrath

Oct 16, 2026

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Policy & Planning

Robots and racking systems: Australia turns focus to PV construction costs in quest for ultra-cheap solar power
Arena says the pursuit of ultra-low cost solar is making “good progress” with cells and panels, but there’s a “long way to go” on cutting construction costs for grid-scale PV.
Sophie Vorrath

Oct 15, 2026

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Renewables

Electric and autonomous solar inspection robots to be rolled out in pursuit of ultra-low cost PV
An electric, autonomous robot that inspects the panels of solar farms will make its debut in Australia as part of an Arena-backed initiative to test and deploy new technologies to deliver even cheaper solar.
Sophie Vorrath

Sep 23, 2026

1
Electrification

Government backs trial of one-stop-shop platform to make home electrification less daunting for households
Federal government backs trial for 1,000 households in national capital that will use a specially designed digital “one stop shop” to make home electrification less daunting.
Rachel Williamson

Sep 17, 2026

1
Policy & Planning

New $30 million “launchpad” offers grants to help Australian clean energy startups to take off
Arena to lead a new $30 million funding program to help “promising” early-stage climate and renewable energy startups turn their ideas into a commercial reality.
Joshua S Hill

Sep 17, 2026

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Policy & Planning

Fortescue green iron rival wins Arena cash to scale up Perth demonstration plant
Element Zero, the upstart Pilbara green iron contender and survivor of a legal challenge from Fortescue, has won an Arena grant to scale-up of its Perth demonstration plant.
Sophie Vorrath

Sep 2, 2026

1
Policy & Planning

From solar cells to solar farms: Quest for ultra-low cost PV gets $100 million federal boost
Australian Renewable Energy Agency will invest more than $100 million across 20 research and development projects as part of its mission to further drive down the cost of solar power generation.
Joshua S Hill

Aug 31, 2026

0
Renewables

Green hydrogen costs could tumble 68 pct by 2035, new study says. Experts are not so sure
Arena has published a techno-roadmap outlining the innovations and decisions that might lead to a massive reduction in green hydrogen costs.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 31, 2026

1
Battery

“Fingerprints” of grid-forming inverters to be studied to assess their ability to replace spinning machines
UNSW is launching a study into an obscure technical part of the grid which could pave the way for a fully digital system with no reliance on spinning machines.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 18, 2026

4
Renewables

Australia’s quest for ultra-low cost solar now depends on robots and drones, rather than cheaper panels
The quest for ultra-low cost solar is now far more dependent on cheaper construction methods and system integration rather than lower-priced cells and modules.
Sophie Vorrath

Jul 30, 2026

2