The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has opened a third round of its Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) Program, with $180 million in funding available to support emissions reduction at regional industrial facilities across Australia.
Under the third round of the $400 million ITS Program, ARENA is seeking projects from regional industrial businesses that will transform their operations to support Australia’s net zero goals.
“The ITS Program is aimed at businesses that are significant energy users in regional Australia that are looking for cleaner, more energy-efficient ways to operate,” said Darren Miller, CEO of ARENA.
“We know many businesses want to reduce emissions but aren’t sure where to start. This funding is designed to help them take that step.”
“Whether you’re electrifying cold storage at a meat processing facility, implementing thermal energy storage technologies, or recovering biogas from dairy waste—if you are tackling emissions and energy use in an innovative and scalable way, we want to hear from you.”
The focus areas in this funding round are designed to support both innovation and practical deployment.
- Focus Area 1: Innovative technologies that haven’t been tried before but could deliver major impact.
This could include developing new methods to replace fossil fuels in high-temperature industrial processes, such as chemical manufacturing.
- Focus Area 2: Accelerating technologies that are already proven but not yet widely used due to cost or risk barriers.
This could include supporting the uptake of electric heat pumps, which are already used in industries like food processing and paper manufacturing to deliver industrial-grade heat without emissions.
To qualify for funding under ITS, businesses must:
- Be located in a regional area.
- Use a significant amount of energy and produce Scope 1 or Scope 2 emissions:
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from on-site fuel combustion.
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from electricity purchased from the grid.
- Qualify for reporting under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme.
- Have a project that can be scaled or replicated across the industry, offering broader benefits beyond one business.
Interested businesses can visit the ITS funding webpage for program guidelines and further information on eligibility and submitting an application.
Industrial decarbonisation at ARENA
The $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) is a 2023 budget measure under the $1.9 billion Powering the Regions Fund (PRF).
The PRF forms part of Powering Australia, supporting Australia’s ambition to become a renewable energy superpower and meet emission reduction targets of 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and net zero emissions by 2050.
The first 2 rounds under ITS have been successful in establishing a portfolio of projects since launch in November 2023. To date, approximately $220 million has been allocated to projects either announced or under assessment.
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