Heavy industry supported to decarbonise in NSW

Four High emitting manufacturers in New South Wales will be supported to transform into low carbon facilities through partnership agreements with the state government to assist deep decarbonisation in heavy industry.

A total of $855,000 in funding was announced to support decarbonisation studies by chemical manufacturer Orica, metal manufacturer Tomago Aluminium (pictured), cement producer Boral and starch manufacturer Manildra Group.

The assistance is part of $305 million set aside by NSW to develop and implement abatement projects at manufacturing and mining facilities, aiding the state’s target of net zero by 2050 and a 70 percent reduction by 2035.

NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean said: “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.

“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.”

Under the federal government’s proposed changes to the safeguard mechanism, most of these companies are required to reduce their emissions by 4.9 percent every year to 2030.

“The outcomes of these studies will not only help the companies meet their safeguard obligations at minimum cost, but also allow them to go even further to reduce emissions.”

The funding was provided under the Transformative Industry Projects stream of the Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program, and will be at least matched by contributions from the four companies.

Picture: Tomago Aluminium