Latest news with #ZENEnergy
The Age
a day ago
- Business
- The Age
The PM talked up green steel. But is it even a thing?
Champions of a green steel industry, such as the economist Ross Garnaut, a director of The Superpower Institute and the clean power company ZEN Energy, along with Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Metals Group, argue that Australia is uniquely placed to lead this potential new industry: we have the world's largest iron ore reserves and the vast space for the wind and solar farms needed to power the industry. Is it happening yet? Not at large scale. A Swedish consortium, Hybrit, has made around 5000 tonnes of hydrogen-reduced iron, and advances are being made in Australia. ZEN Energy is working with European and Asian partners to develop a green iron project to supply a new electric arc furnace at Wyalla in South Australia, while Fortescue has a green metal project underway at Christmas Creek in the Pilbara. What's the hold up? Cost and complexity. The industrial supply chain to produce green steel is long, complicated and expensive. It demands that a hydrogen industry be built to sustain it, and cost-effective ways of storing that hydrogen, and massive amounts of green energy, which also must be stored. The cost of each those processes must also be driven down. While renewable energy costs are tumbling, hydrogen remains comparatively expensive. Back when hydrogen cost around $15 a kilo former Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an energy policy designed to drive it down to $2 per kilo. Today it remains closer to $10. 'It means a lot of large organisations making big expensive bets, and getting enough of them right,' explains Tony Wood, senior fellow with the Grattan Institute's energy program. 'The question is, who is going to cover the risk?' Finally, the product they make will be more expensive than conventional steel, which means the industry will need customers willing to pay a premium for a clean product. If countries are to meet their Paris Agreement targets, it is expected that market will grow. Garnaut believes the industry needs the support of a carbon price. Are there advantages beyond greenhouse gas emissions? Absolutely. As Albanese said on Monday, Australia is already the world's largest exporter of iron ore. If we can scale green iron at a viable cost we can add value to the product. 'The value of the green iron would be two or three times the value of the iron ore,' says Garnaut, pointing to a Superpower Institute paper that found if green iron replaced iron ore as a primary export, it could generate up to $386 billion annually by 2060. By comparison, Australia's iron ore exports are typically around $120 billion per year. This would provide a strategic hedge against the expected decline in coal exports. With a large scale green iron or steel industry, Australia could not only help decarbonise its own economy, but that of its iron customers, who would be purchasing Australian green energy embodied in the iron products. This would be far more efficient than exporting Australian hydrogen and iron ore to be produced offshore into iron and steel, and it could reduce global emissions by four per cent, Garnaut argues.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The PM talked up green steel. But is it even a thing?
Champions of a green steel industry, such as the economist Ross Garnaut, a director of The Superpower Institute and the clean power company ZEN Energy, along with Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Metals Group, argue that Australia is uniquely placed to lead this potential new industry: we have the world's largest iron ore reserves and the vast space for the wind and solar farms needed to power the industry. Is it happening yet? Not at large scale. A Swedish consortium, Hybrit, has made around 5000 tonnes of hydrogen-reduced iron, and advances are being made in Australia. ZEN Energy is working with European and Asian partners to develop a green iron project to supply a new electric arc furnace at Wyalla in South Australia, while Fortescue has a green metal project underway at Christmas Creek in the Pilbara. What's the hold up? Cost and complexity. The industrial supply chain to produce green steel is long, complicated and expensive. It demands that a hydrogen industry be built to sustain it, and cost-effective ways of storing that hydrogen, and massive amounts of green energy, which also must be stored. The cost of each those processes must also be driven down. While renewable energy costs are tumbling, hydrogen remains comparatively expensive. Back when hydrogen cost around $15 a kilo former Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an energy policy designed to drive it down to $2 per kilo. Today it remains closer to $10. 'It means a lot of large organisations making big expensive bets, and getting enough of them right,' explains Tony Wood, senior fellow with the Grattan Institute's energy program. 'The question is, who is going to cover the risk?' Finally, the product they make will be more expensive than conventional steel, which means the industry will need customers willing to pay a premium for a clean product. If countries are to meet their Paris Agreement targets, it is expected that market will grow. Garnaut believes the industry needs the support of a carbon price. Are there advantages beyond greenhouse gas emissions? Absolutely. As Albanese said on Monday, Australia is already the world's largest exporter of iron ore. If we can scale green iron at a viable cost we can add value to the product. 'The value of the green iron would be two or three times the value of the iron ore,' says Garnaut, pointing to a Superpower Institute paper that found if green iron replaced iron ore as a primary export, it could generate up to $386 billion annually by 2060. By comparison, Australia's iron ore exports are typically around $120 billion per year. This would provide a strategic hedge against the expected decline in coal exports. With a large scale green iron or steel industry, Australia could not only help decarbonise its own economy, but that of its iron customers, who would be purchasing Australian green energy embodied in the iron products. This would be far more efficient than exporting Australian hydrogen and iron ore to be produced offshore into iron and steel, and it could reduce global emissions by four per cent, Garnaut argues.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AMPYR Australia secures funding for Wellington Stage 1 BESS
AMPYR Australia has secured funding above A$340m ($221m) for its 300MW/600 megawatt hours (MWh) Wellington Stage 1 battery energy storage system (BESS) project in regional New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Scheduled to be operational by 2026, the project will boost the supply of dependable renewable energy across Australia while reducing electricity costs for emerging industries. The financing package is supported by banking institutions the Bank of China, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HSBC, Rabobank, Société Générale and the United Overseas Bank. AMPYR is also engaging with local Aboriginal communities around Wellington, offering investment opportunities in parallel with their ventures into sustainable projects. AMPYR aims to deliver more than 6 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy storage projects by the end of 2030. This goal includes both stages of the Wellington project, with stage 2 adding a further 100MW/400MWh to reach a combined 1GWh capacity in the region by 2027. Supporting this development is a ten-year virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) between AMPYR and ZEN Energy Retail for 150MW of the projects' output. This arrangement offers AMPYR flexibility in managing its capacity contracts while allowing ZEN Energy to secure its commitments to sustainability-focused clientele. Fluence Energy will furnish and maintain the Wellington Stage 1 BESS project under a 20-year operational service contract using their advanced Gridstack technology and software solutions Mosaic and Nispera for revenue optimisation and asset performance management respectively. Lumea will facilitate connectivity with Transgrid's 330kV network at Wellington. Fluence APAC senior vice-president and president Jan Teichmann stated: 'We are thrilled to be partnering with AMPYR on the Wellington Stage 1 BESS, marking another step forward in strengthening Australia's transition to a more sustainable energy future. The full suite of Fluence's innovative storage products and operational services will allow AMPYR to extract the most value out of the Wellington Stage 1 BESS.' Backed by AGP, an independent global investor, AMPYR Australia continues to make progress in sustainable asset development across sectors including energy transition. AMPYR Australia CEO Alex Wonhas stated: 'Reaching the financial close of our first grid-scale BESS project in Australia marks a significant milestone in the acceleration of Australia's energy transition. "Supported by our high-calibre partners, ZEN Energy and Fluence, the Wellington Stage 1 BESS will play a critical role in an increasingly renewable grid whilst boosting Australia's energy storage capacity and supporting the delivery of low-cost energy to major users." Advisory services during financing were provided by Azure Capital as financial adviser and Ashurst as borrower's counsel. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer acted on behalf of lenders. Corrs Chambers Westgarth advised on virtual toll agreements with ZEN Energy alongside diligence advisers from Ashurst (legal), Aurora (market), BMS (insurance), KPMG (tax), Mazars (model audit) and Worley (technical). In February 2025, AMPYR Solar Europe entered a PPA with ROCKWOOL to supply 50GWh of clean energy, to be sourced from AMPYR's new 96 megawatts peak solar facility in Noordoostpolder, the Netherlands. "AMPYR Australia secures funding for Wellington Stage 1 BESS" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
