Media

NSW can safely close Australia’s largest coal-fired power station in 2025, secure supply and reduce power bills with a speedier rollout of renewables, analysis shows. The Lights Will Stay On report released on Tuesday warns delays to the closure of Eraring and the smaller Vales Point would cost the bank and risk the nation’s emissions reduction target. Read more

“Fast forward 10 years when there’s a global price on carbon emissions, and Australia could be exporting decarbonization,” says Tim Buckley who would like to see A$100 billion of Australian capital, including super, hived off for critical minerals investment. Read more

“Australia must now, as a key strategic priority, work constructively with South Korea to ensure both economies are dealt into the North American value-added cleantech opportunity, and to leverage our combined world-leading capacity and skill sets,” authors Matt Pollard and Tim Buckley state in CEF’s new report. Read more

“China is moving faster than anyone,” on the clean energy race”, Tim Buckley said. Meanwhile, Australia’s efforts are more modest. In June the federal government gave its Northern Australia Investment Fund an additional $500 million to support critical mineral projects. Buckley called for government support proportional to the size of the opportunity. “Five hundred million dollars is one step, we need 100 steps,” he said. The opportunity for Australia is to move from the dig and ship model of coal and iron ore to creating more value by processing the mineral here. Read more

Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley says Australia needs more strategic partners like South Korea to tackle the climate crisis. “South Korea is the number one investor into the American battery market, they are moving at an unbelievable speed,” he told Sky News Australia. Read more

Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley says Australia must embrace the massive investment, employment and export opportunities that the energy transition presents. Director Tim Buckley says Australia needs more strategic partners like South Korea to tackle the climate crisis. “South Korea is the number one investor into the American battery market, they are moving at an unbelievable speed,” he told Sky News Australia. Read more

An Australia-South Korea Compact across value-added critical mineral industries, and scaling of the capacity and cooperation of our respective export credit agencies, should be a strategic federal priority for Australia. Such a Compact would bring material gain to both economies as Australia seeks to move beyond its dig and ship history and capture value further downstream by value-adding and building batteries onshore. Read more

Tim Buckley, from Climate Energy Finance, emphasizes Australia’s opportunity to play a more significant role in the full electrification of various sectors. Tim notes Australia’s position as a significant global exporter of lithium, iron ore, and coke coal, and the need to capitalise on this status to usher in the transition to electric vehicles. Read more

Australia has been urged to ink a battery supply chain pact with leading car maker South Korea to kickstart local industry. A globally competitive battery manufacturing capability onshore in Australia could be part of a critical minerals compact with the country’s top three trading partners, a think tank said in a report released on Thursday. Read more

Buckley of Climate Energy Finance pointed out Australia could also have an opportunity when it comes to heavy haulage electric trucks, since as a nation we command much of the market via our mining industry. “In heavy haulage vehicles, Australia is number two,” he said. Read more

A $51 million, 10 megawatt (MW) electrolyser is planned for North East Water’s local wastewater plant in Wodonga, one of the largest proposed for Australia, and will feed green hydrogen into the local gas network at a blend of up to 10 per cent. Tim Buckley says gas companies are substituting high emission, low cost gas for low emission, high cost green hydrogen and it’s a low value use of the hydrogen. Read more

With the world racing ahead with huge subsidies attracting massive capital inflows, the $500m commitment in the new federal Critical Minerals Strategy released this week is a drop in the ocean, and fails to take advantage of Australia’s unique position in the energy transition as a potential critical minerals value-adding superpower. Read more