Media Release: $330m investment in Australian heavy industry future

Published Wed 24 Apr 2024

The Albanese Government is ensuring a future made in Australia – with a big funding boost for clean energy and emissions reduction projects at heavy industrial sites around the country.

Our Powering the Regions Fund is delivering $330 million to nine projects to keep Australian industry not just surviving but thriving, as demand for low emissions products grows around the world.

These nine projects will create hundreds of new jobs during construction and secure existing regional roles that have supported Australian families and communities for generations.

Minister Bowen was at Cement Australia’s century-old Railton facility in Tasmania today, to announce $52.9 million to upgrade their kiln and increase the use of alternative fuels such as waste to reduce emissions. Other projects backed by the Albanese Government include:

$93 million for an energy efficiency upgrade at the QAL Alumina refinery in Gladstone, QLD
$50 million to reduce emissions intensity at the Adbri cement manufacturing in Port Adelaide, SA
$44 million for energy efficiency upgrades at Shoalhaven Starches food manufacturing in Nowra, nSW
$35 million to power Murrin Murrin cobalt and nickel operations with renewables in Leonora, WA
$32.9 million for emissions reduction at the CSBP chemical manufacturing facility in Kwinana, WA
$15 million to electrify the Grange Resources Iron Ore mine in Savage River, Tas
$5 million for fuel switching at the Grange Resources Iron Pellet plant in Port Latta, Tas
$700, 000 for alternative fuel trial at Liberty metals manufacturing site in Bell Bay, Tas

Industries like cement, alumina, mining, iron and steel processing, chemicals manufacturing and food processing are all critical not only to Australia’s past but our future, which is why we’re investing in them for the long-term.

These projects will also cut 830,000 tonnes of emissions every year, equivalent to taking over a quarter of a million cars off Australian roads.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the grants would future-proof Australia’s heavy industries in a decarbonising world.

“This $330 million investment in Australia’s hard-to-abate manufacturing and mining facilities is about securing the future of high-quality, low-emissions products made right here,” Minister Bowen said.

“Northern Tasmania, Central Queensland and Western Australia have been industrial powerhouses for generations, and the Albanese Government is ensuring that continues.

“As global markets change rapidly – we’re supporting Australian industry to not only survive but thrive with our world-class products that support regional jobs across the country.”

Stream	Organisation	Project Name	Project	Grant	Location
Safeguard Transformation Stream	CSBP Limited	N2O Reduction - Nitric Acid Ammonium Nitrate Tertiary Catalysts	Installation of tertiary catalysts to remove 98% of nitrous oxide emissions.	$32,945,365	Kwinana (WA)
	Grange Resources (Tasmania) Pty Ltd	Electrification of Underground Operations at Savage River Iron Ore Mine	Mine will be electrified as part of transition from open cut to underground mine, reducing diesel use.	$15,000,000	Savage River (TAS)
	Grange Resources (Tasmania) Pty Ltd	Eliminating Anthracite Use in Furnaces at Port Latta Iron Pelletising Plant	Modification of four vertical shaft furnaces to enable shift from anthracite (coal) to natural gas.	$5,000,000	Port Latta (TAS)
	Murrin Murrin Operations Pty Ltd	Hybrid Renewable Energy Project	Supplement existing fossil fuel power sources with renewables and batteries.	$35,739,526	Leonora (WA)
	Shoalhaven Starches Pty Ltd	Recovering heat to enable transformative emission reductions at Shoalhaven	Deployment of heat recovery upgrades and enabling infrastructure to reduce gas consumption.	$44,457,114	Nowra (NSW)
	Liberty Bell Bay Pty Ltd	LBB Biocarbon project – Stage 1	Trial to produce 500 tons of biocarbon (charcoal) to test as an alternative to coke in smelting process.	$766,612	Bell Bay (TAS)
Critical Inputs to Clean Energy Industries – Cement, Lime, Alumina and Aluminium Sectors (CICEI – CLAAS) Stream	Cement Australia Holdings Pty Ltd	Railton Alternative Fuels Transformation	Upgrade of kiln and alternative fuel facilities to enable greater use of waste to reduce coal consumption, while also reducing waste going to landfill.	$52,874,500	Railton (TAS)
	Adbri Limited	Birkenhead Vertical Roller Mill: Making More Domestic Lower Carbon Cement	Installation of vertical roller mills to increase production and reduce emissions intensity.	$50,000,000	Port Adelaide (SA)
	Queensland Alumina Limited	Double Digestion Project	Retrofit of a low temperature digestion circuit into QAL’s existing high temperature unit to reduce coal and gas consumption.	$93,979,069	Gladstone (QLD)

These projects include the first $134 million batch of the $600 million Safeguard Transformation Stream, which is currently open for further applications through the Business Grant Hub.