July 30, 2020
The Future Energy Exports CRC has reached its first milestone: the Commonwealth Grant Agreement that will provide $40 million over 10 years to help future-proof Australia’s energy export industry has been executed!
The Future Energy Exports (FEnEx) CRC is a national collaboration of 28 industry, government and research partners. We seek to future-proof Australia’s status as an energy export superpower, and use industrial-scale innovation to help Australia’s LNG exports remain competitive while also growing Australia’s emerging hydrogen export industry. Over the next decade, the collaboration will use $162 million of resources to develop new knowledge and demonstrate innovative technologies aimed at making LNG and hydrogen production more efficient while also lowering the carbon emissions associated with their export.
A key part of finalising the Grant agreement was defining the core technical milestones to be reached by the FEnEx CRC’s four research programs. These include the training of at least 60 PhDs students who will conduct cutting edge research projects in the following programs: Efficient LNG Value Chains, Hydrogen Export & Value Chains, Digital Technologies and Interoperability, Market and Sector Development. Scholarships for these FEnEx CRC PhDs will be awarded through the University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Queensland University of Technology, the University of South Australia and Swinburne University.
Many of the technical milestones to be pursued by the FEnEx CRC are directly aligned with the Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap (see our submission). They have a focus on reducing carbon emissions while increasing the competitiveness and reliability of energy supply. The milestones in the CRC’s Commonwealth Grant Agreement reflect our assessment of the priorities that Australia should focus on as its technology roadmap is formulated.
Our sector has a bright future and with so many companies and organisations ready to partner with us over the next 10 years there is no doubt that exciting times lay ahead! Stay tuned!