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Australia’s clean hydrogen revolution is a path to prosperity

–John Mathews, Professor Emeritus, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University. Days out from the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, the Morrison government on Tuesday announced a “practically achievable” path to reaching its new target of net-zero emissions by 2050. As expected, the government will pursue a “technology not taxes” approach – eschewing policies such as a carbon price in favour of technological solutions to reduce emissions. Developing Australia’s fledgling hydrogen industry is a central plank in the plan. This technological shift should not be seen as a cost burden for Australia. Yes, major transformation in industry is needed as it moves away from conventional fossil-fuelled processes. But this green industrial revolution is a potential source of great profit and prosperity – a fact Australia’s business sector has already recognised. Acting quickly, and powering the shift with renewable energy, means Australia can be a world leader in green hydrogen technology and exports, particular to Asia. A ‘priority technology’ Hydrogen can be produced in several ways. So-called “green” hydrogen is produced using electrolysers, powered by renewable energy, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. “Blue” hydrogen is produced from coal or gas, with some carbon emissions trapped and stored underground. A report released earlier this month found Australia could create 395,000 new jobs and generate A$89 billion in new trade by 2040 by investing in clean energy exports. Some of the biggest opportunities were in green hydrogen produced using renewable energy. The National Hydrogen Strategy, published in late 2019 and spearheaded by then-Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, aims to make Australia a world leader in hydrogen. Under the most optimistic scenario, it predicts Australia’s hydrogen industry could be worth A$26 billion to the economy in 2050. Energy Minster Angus Taylor on Tuesday said clean hydrogen was a “priority technology” in the government’s roadmap to reaching net-zero emissions this century, […]

Rio Tinto and ARENA to study using hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions in alumina refining

Rio Tinto has partnered with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to study whether hydrogen can replace natural gas in alumina refineries to reduce emissions. Rio Tinto will conduct a $1.2 million feasibility study, equally funded with ARENA through a $580,000 grant, into using clean hydrogen to replace natural gas in the calcination process of refining at the Yarwun aumina refinery in Gladstone. The study program includes work to be done at Rio Tinto’s Bundoora Technical Development Centre in Melbourne, where Rio Tinto’s in-house development capability has now been extended to hydrogen. ARENA CEO Darren Miller said “If we can replace fossil fuels with clean hydrogen in the refining process for alumina, this will reduce emissions in the energy and emissions intensive refining stage of the aluminium supply chain. Exploring these new clean energy technologies and methods is a crucial step towards producing green aluminium. “This study will investigate a potential technology that can contribute to the decarbonisation of the Australian alumina industry. If successful, the technical and commercial lessons from Rio Tinto’s study could lead to the implementation of hydrogen calcination technology, not only in Australia, but also internationally.” Rio Tinto Aluminium Pacific Operations acting managing director Daniel van der Westhuizen said “We see the ARENA and Rio Tinto-funded study as a step towards reducing refinery emissions and one that has the potential to play an important part in Rio Tinto’s commitment to decarbonisation. “We’re investing in work that needs to be done, not only to decarbonise one of our sites, but also to help provide a lower-emissions pathway for Rio Tinto and the global aluminium industry. “We recognise we are on a long road towards reducing emissions across our operations and there is clearly more work to be done. But projects such as this are an important part […]

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Coal is passé in much of China

Australian coal exports to China plummeted last year. While this is due in part to recent trade tensions between Australia and China, our research suggests coal plant closures are a bigger threat to Australia’s export coal in the long term. China unofficially banned Australian coal in mid-2020. Some 70 ships carrying Australian coal have reportedly been unable to unload in China since October. This is obviously bad news for Australia’s coal exporters. But even if the ban is lifted, there’s no guarantee China will start buying Australian coal again – at least not in huge volumes. China is changing. It’s announced a firm date to reach net-zero emissions, and governments in eastern provinces don’t want polluting coal plants taking up prime real estate. It’s time Australia faced reality, and reconsidered its coal export future. First, the coal ban In May last year, China’s government effectively banned the import of Australian coal, by applying stringent import quotas. As of last month coal exports to China from Newcastle, Australia’s busiest coal exporting port, had ceased. In 2019, Australia exported A$13.7 billion worth of coal to China. This comprised A$9.7 billion in metallurgical coal for steel making and A$4 billion in thermal coal for electricity generation. The latest official Australian data shows these export levels fell dramatically between November 2019 and November 2020. Comparing the two months, metallurgical and thermal coal exports to China were down 85% and 83% respectively. Several Chinese provinces experienced power blackouts in late 2020. China’s state-backed media said the shortages were unrelated to the ban on Australian coal. Instead, they blamed cold weather and the recovery in industrial activity after the pandemic. We dispute this claim. While Australian coal accounts for only about 2% of coal consumption in China, it helps maintain reliable supply for many power stations in China’s southeast coastal provinces. Coal mining in China mostly occurs in the western […]

Getting the right information to the right place

The AVR Lab, a leading supplier of augmented and virtual reality (AVR) technology and services announces their partnership with Gemvision, bringing the Gemvision’s Communication Platform as a Service (CPAAS) to the Australian and New Zealand markets. The Gemvision (CPAAS) platform gives engineers, healthcare workers, electricians, technicians, that are hands-on workers, their hands and of course their mind to get the job done. Well-trained employees are getting harder to find, while service and maintenance standards are getting higher. Effective communication, fast remote resolution times and first-time-fix-rates are extremely important for keep the client happy and the costs in check. This is not limited to industry. Whether it be healthcare, maritime, protective services or manufacturing, we find similar use cases where the Gemvision solution fits seamlessly to support business excellence. With Gemvision you can: § Give and receive remote work instructions and connect to remote colleagues to ’share your view’ through smart glasses or mobile devices. § Remotely control the camera of smart glasses and mobile devices during support video calls § Live annotate, capture pictures, record video streams, share your screen and more to get the right information to the right place. § Do routine maintenance checks and inspections with workflows to rapidly access checklists, audit forms, troubleshooting guides and easy submission when fulfilled. § Capture and share expert knowledge with field workers § Offer standardised workflows for employee training § Offer on demand access for field workers for procedures, manuals, checklists, workflows etc. § Integrate with management software that manage your jobs, tasks, work orders etc. § Use voice commands to be truly hands-free while working with smart glasses in the field. § Integrate with a multitude of CRM, IoT, ERP, Analytics and Service platforms, providers and technology. “When we identify new partners for the ANZ territory they not only […]

Preventure new product features to help employers with remote safety

Australian wearable technology startup Preventure has today announced the launch of a range of new product features, including free services for Australian businesses hit hard by the financial impact of Covid-19, which will help employers who are struggling to provide their workforce with enough health, safety and HR support remotely. The newest addition to the Preventure.Live smartphone app uses AI technology to automate the delivery of safety training, helping to prevent injuries in the workplace. Development of this feature was accelerated when Covid-19 hit, to provide existing Preventure customers with an alternative to face-to-face training. It completes Preventure’s risk identification/behavioural change loop, whereby wearable sensors record worker movement patterns, live feedback is provided around injury risk, and now, customised training modules are delivered in response to that risk. In addition, core Sports-themed injury prevention modules are accessible to businesses, and the team is generously offering a free version of the app, that includes these modules, to any business and their workers during these challenging times. Off the back of the lockdown which has seen most of Australia working from home for the last 6 months, the team at Preventure also built and launched a posture-monitoring product, aptly named ‘Office Coach’, that utilses a single back sensor (for manual handling, an arm sensor is also used). This is the team’s first foray into the corporate wellness space and the product can be described as a B2B wellness app, and a consumer posture product, rolled into one! Businesses who are concerned about employee home workstation setups, or looking to engage their remote teams, can purchase an account, sensors and monthly app subscriptions. The app provides slouch alerts, and stretch alerts, to reduce the risks associated with sustained posture, and also tracks steps, to encourage movement at a time where our incidental activity […]

ASM produces dysprosium metal in Korea

Australian Strategic Materials, through its partner Ziron Technology Corporation (Ziron Tech), has successfully produced high purity dysprosium (Dy) metal in its laboratory at the Ziron Tech facility. This work using the ASM metallisation process has confirmed ASM’s ability to produce the key permanent magnet metals (dysprosium, praseodymium and neodymium) and alloys that will be sourced from its Dubbo Project in central west NSW. ASM Managing Director, David Woodall said: “This is a significant result given the temperatures required for the production of dysprosium metal. Our team has now successfully produced the key permanent magnet rare earth products (dysprosium, praseodymium and neodymium metals and alloys) which will be supplied from our Dubbo Project.” “Now that the protocol for the production of dysprosium metal has been completed, our team led by Professor Lee, will focus on the production the ferro-dysprosium alloy, which is key in the production of high-temperature NdFeB magnets. Our focus now is to produce zirconium metal by the end of September, Mr Woodall said. The ASM metallisation process uses significantly less energy and has less impact on the environment than existing industry-standard metallisation processes. This innovative process has been used to produce metals of the planned products from ASM’s Dubbo Project including zirconium, hafnium, and rare earths for permanent magnet alloys in the laboratory. Titanium and the key rare earth permanent magnet metals neodymium and praseodymium have been produced in the commercial pilot plant with dysprosium and zirconium scheduled for later this month. ASM and Ziron Tech continue to finalise the detailed documentation in relation to the acquisition of Ziron Tech with the transaction expected to be completed by the end of October 2020.

Invention could save old coal stations by running them on zero-emissions ‘Lego’ blocks

As climate change worsens, the future of fossil fuel jobs and infrastructure is uncertain. But a new energy storage technology invented in Australia could enable coal-fired power stations to run entirely emissions-free. The novel material, called miscibility gap alloy (MGA), stores energy in the form of heat. MGA is housed in small blocks of blended metals, which receive energy generated by renewables such as solar and wind. The energy can then be used as an alternative to coal to run steam turbines at coal-fired power stations, without producing emissions. Stackable like Lego, MGA blocks can be added or removed, scaling electricity generation up or down to meet demand. MGA blocks are a fraction of the cost of a rival energy storage technology, lithium-ion batteries. Our invention has been proven in the lab – now we are moving to the next phase of proving it in the real world. Why energy storage is important Major renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are “intermittent”. In other words, they only produce energy when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. Sometimes they produce more energy than is needed, and other times, less. So moving to 100% renewable electricity requires the energy to be “dispatchable” – stored and delivered on demand. Some forms of storage, such as lithium-ion batteries, are relatively expensive and can only store energy for short periods. Others, such as hydro-electric power, can store energy for longer periods, but are site-dependent and can’t just be built anywhere. If our electricity grid is to become emissions-free, we need an energy storage option that’s both affordable and versatile enough to be rolled out at massive scale – providing six to eight hours of dispatchable power every night. MGAs store energy for a day to a week. This fills a “middle” time frame between […]

Golden run continues for Oz Minerals

Strong gold prices matched by higher volumes has helped Adelaide-based miner Oz Minerals record a net profit after tax of $80 million for the six months to June 30. The profit was up 82 per cent on the same period last year. The company, which operates the Prominent Hill and Carrapateena copper and gold mines in South Australia, increased its net revenue by $156.5 million to $575.7 million, as a result of higher gold volumes and price. Gold sales increased by 53,800 ounces and the net A$ gold price was 36 per cent higher. The Carrapateena mine is expected to reach full production of 4.25Mtpa by the end of the year, further strengthening cash flows. The company also announced a fully franked interim dividend of 8 cents per share to the ASX this morning. OZ Minerals Chief Executive Andrew Cole said the strong first-half performance enabled it to last year increase its copper and gold guidance for 2020. “All our sites and has benefited from higher gold production and favourable gold pricing through the period,” he said. “The ramp-up at Carrapateena during the half year has exceeded expectations with a strong performance from the underground materials handling system, production system and plant allowing an increase to production guidance. “The Prominent Hill underground is performing well, and we have seen annualised ore mining rates of ~4.5Mtpa achieved through July.” Oz Minerals shares increased more than 2 per cent in early trade this morning to $14.42 following the announcement. The positive result was no surprise, following five months of strong growth for Oz Minerals. The company’s share price started the year at $10.55 but slumped due to weak copper prices and coronavirus uncertainty, bottoming out at $5.99 on March 23. Since then, Oz Minerals share price has more than doubled as its […]

An offshore production platform in a Gulf of Thailand

LAT-Series air-powered hydraulic torque wrench pumps highly productive

Global hydraulic tool and lifting leader Enerpac is introducing to Australia, New Zealand and PNG a new compact, portable and powerful air-powered torque wrench pump for high productivity in hard-to-access locations. Weighing in at approx. 18kg (40lb) with oil, the Enerpac LAT Air Hydraulic Torque Wrench Pump is easy to lift, transport and manoeuvre. The pump comes with an integrated carry handle and can be carried by a single operator up stairs when a crane, hoist or elevator is not available. It is easy to manoeuvre in narrow and constrained spaces such as scaffolding, catwalks, pipe racks and lifts. The LAT pumps are ideal for high repetition torque wrench applications that need air power, such as oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation and mining, but have limited access, so a larger pump would not be practical or efficient. The pump features a proven Enerpac piston design, reinforced Filter Regulator Lubricator (FRL) support and air supply connection, designed to provide years of reliable service with fastening and break out speeds to keep jobs on schedule and on budget. High productivity, reduced equipment downtime “The LAT pump has best-in-class, flow-to-weight performance. Its industry-proven air motor and three-piston design enable operators to complete their hydraulic torque wrench applications faster, while always ensuring top levels of safety. The durable, reliable new pumps are designed and tested for use in tough environments. The roll cage protects key components and provides increased support and protection of the FRL from vibration. The heavy-duty air supply connection and proven piston design enables long life. Key components are easy to access for service and a skid rail accessory prevents reservoir wear from rough surfaces. Applications include: Oil and Gas -Upstream, Midstream, Downstream; Petrochemical -Well heads, pipelines, pumping systems, heat exchangers; Power Generation -Gas Turbine Maintenance; Mining – Conveyor system […]

Australia’s natural sanitiser: Lemon Myrtle in demand

A lemon myrtle farm in Far North Queensland has retooled its entire operation to meet the growing demand for hand sanitiser and cleaning products in the wake of coronavirus. Lemon myrtle has natural antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial properties. To keep up with a spike in customer enquiries, Australia’s largest producer, Australian Native Products, has shifted its entire Mareeba production from turning 95% of its harvested lemon myrtle into dried leaves to distilling 100% of the crop into lemon myrtle essential oil. Lemon myrtle essential oil can then be used as a natural antibacterial in hand sanitiser and cleaning products. The farm expects to produce more than 300kg of lemon myrtle oil between now and June. CEO James Gosper can discuss the installation of the new still and how the farm has reworked its entire crop away from drying to distilling. As a whole, the company is working to make use of the bi-products of lemon myrtle. They have developed manufacturing processes to extract hydrosol from the plant which can be used in fragrances, as well as microfibre which they hope to market into body scrubs and cosmetics.

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