The funding was led by Main Sequence, Australia's deep tech investment fund founded by CSIRO, New Zealand's Climate Venture Capital Fund and other investors.
MGA Thermal's core technology Miscibility Gap Alloys (MGA) modular blocks are stacked into insulated storage tanks and
store hundreds to millions of kilowatt hours of energy.
MGA systems can be custom made to suit a wide range of operating temperatures with multiple systems under development for temperatures between 200 degrees C and 1400 degrees C.
(Source: MGA Thermal, PR, Aug., 2021) Contact: MGA Thermal, Erich Kisis, CEO, Arden Jarrett, arden.j@mgathermal.com,
www.mgathermalstorage.com
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The 2-year program will support collaboration between Australia's research institutions and leading international research organizations for the benefit of the domestic hydrogen RD&D community, as well as enabling RD&D linkages with partner countries. The program will seek to:
The Hydrogen RD&D International Collaboration Program is funded by the Australian Government, and follows partnerships signed with Germany, Singapore and Japan to accelerate the development of low emissions technologies, including hydrogen, that will drive investment and job creation in Australia. (Source: CSIRO, PR, Website, Green Car Congress, 8 July, 2021) Contact: CSIRO, +61 3 9545 2176, enquiries@csiro.au, www.csiro.au
More Low-Carbon Energy News CSIRO, Hydrogen, Australia Hydrogen,
The Airthena device, which uses a metal organic framework (MOF) that acts like a sponge to soak up CO2, could be adapted so that greenhouses capture their own CO2, or the CO2 could be used to feed algae for biofuel production or to make sustainable cement, according to the developers website.
The developers are in discussions with industry partners and investors, and hope to finalize plans to scale up the technology in the near future. (Source: Monash University, Website PR, 17 Nov., 2020)
Contact: Airthena - CSIRO, www.csiro.au/en/Do-business/Commercialisation/Marketplace/CO2Gen; Monash University, www.monash.edu
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The researchers found that average default forest regrowth rates used by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may have been underestimated by 32 pct.
Led by the Nature Conservancy, the study redefined international estimates and highlighted the role of natural forest regrowth in carbon accumulation, according to Report co-author and CSIRO Principal Research Scientist Dr. Stephen Roxburgh. "The global study complemented recent Australian work on carbon accumulation rates for planted and naturally regenerating stands of woody biomass across Australia," Roxburgh noted and added climate, rather than past land use, was the most important driver of potential carbon accumulation.
The study provides an important benchmark to assess the global potential of forest regrowth as a climate mitigation strategy.
(Source: CSIRO, Spatial Source, October, 2020)
Contact: CSIRO, +61 3 9545 2176, enquiries@csiro.au, www.csiro.au
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The hub, which will be hosted by the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre at the University of Western Australia, will be jointly funded by the federal government and CSIRO to the tune of $600,000 over three years. According to hub director Dr Mat Vanderklift, "Blue carbon ecosystems are highly effective at carbon storage and protecting coastal communities against storms. The Indian Ocean is disproportionately important in blue carbon globally. The hub will allow us to accelerate action and go beyond talking about it, to doing something about it."
Mangrove systems sequester "blue carbon" -- CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere and locked up in coastal wetlands such as mangroves.
(Source: The New Nation, Sept., 2019)
Contact: Indian Ocean Blu Carbon Hub, Dr Mat Vanderklift, Dir. Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre at the University of Western Australia, +61 8 6488 7270, www.uwa.edu.au › facilities › indian-ocean-marine-research-centre
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Australian Housing Data (AHD) Portal will centralize the vast amount of energy efficiency data that will underpin key decision making, training and awareness of energy efficiency technologies and initiatives.
The portal contains data across states and climate zones and can be further broken down by design such as dwelling class and floor area; construction such as type of walls and roofing; and fixtures and appliances such as solar PV and heating/cooling systems. The AHD Portal can pinpoint where energy efficiency efforts are on track and where more focus, where improvements can be made and energy costs can be cut, according to the release.
The tool can be useful in tracking and supporting the progress of the national energy efficiency plan agreed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Ministers.
This plan sets a trajectory towards zero energy homes and zero carbon homes in Australia.
(Source: CSIRO, Open Gov, April, 2019) Contact: CSIRO, +61 3 9545 2176, enquiries@csiro.au, www.csiro.au
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The Fund was introduced by the Tony Abbott government in 2014 after it abolished the previous Labor government's carbon tax. Abbott is perhaps best remembered for his comment "climate change is a load of CRAP." The $2.55 billion Fund pays businesses, landowners and others to reduce carbon emissions or capture and store carbon that already exists in the atmosphere.
About half the carbon abatement pledged under the fund -- or 95 million tonnes -- relates to farming projects that use one of two native revegetation method that are presently being examined by a government-appointed committee. has been examining the performance of the revegetation methods. In a joint submission to the committee, CSIRO and the NSW Department of Primary Industries question whether all emission reduction claimed under the methods were genuine and whether existing revegetation successes are attributable to funded projects or to increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations or the changing climate.
The agencies also noted "uncertainty" in the carbon accounting model used to measure abatement under the two methods, which also lacked "underpinning research" to support its predictions.
Under the scheme, estimates of abatement should be conservative. However the CSIRO and the department expressed "particular concern" over a reliance on "subjective assessments by project proponents" of factors such as the effect of grazing on carbon stocks.
(Source: CSIRO, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 Feb., 2019)
Contact: CSIRO, 1300 363 400,
+61 3 9545 2176, enquiries@csiro.au, www.csiro.au
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According to the report, improved energy efficiency and performance of buildings presents a win-win-win opportunity, reducing stress on the electricity network, offering bill savings, supporting a least-cost pathway to a zero carbon built environment, and improving health and resilience outcomes for households and businesses.
The National Construction Code is a ready-made policy instrument to influence the operational energy use of new buildings and major renovations. The Code regulates the building envelope and fixed equipment, including heating and cooling equipment, lighting and hot water. Built to Perform shows that setting strong energy standards for new buildings in the Code could, between now and 2050, reduce energy bills by up to $27 billion, cut energy network costs by up to $12.6 billion and deliver at least 78 million tonnes of cumulative emissions savings.
The ASBEC report was produced with the support of the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living, the RACV and dozens of building industry and government partners. The project has been delivered in partnership with CSIRO, Energy Action (EA), Strategy. Policy. Research. (SPR) and the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre at the University of Wollongong (UOW). (Source: ASBEC, PR, Jan., 2019) Contact: ASBEC, Suzanne Toumbourou, Exec. Dir., (02) 8006 0828, admin@asbec.asn.au, www.asbec.asn.au; ClimateWorks Australia, www.climateworksaustralia.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,