Industrial decarbonisation

A facility owner has to make decisions about equipment, customers, energy needs, contracts and a balance sheet that can support long-term investment. Even where a credible technical pathway exists, the project still has to compete for capital and operate in a market that recognises the value of the lower-emissions product.

That is what makes industrial decarbonisation difficult. A facility may need new infrastructure before it can change its process. It may need cleaner inputs before it can reduce emissions. It may need customers prepared to pay for the product, financiers prepared to back the project, and policy settings that give confidence over the life of the investment.

If those conditions do not come together, a credible project can stall.

The public interest challenge is to reduce industrial emissions while keeping productive capability in Australia. Many industrial assets support regional economies, export industries and supply chains that are difficult to replace once lost. The task is to help those assets find credible pathways to lower emissions, rather than letting investment drift offshore or allowing difficult decisions to be deferred.

AIDC starts with the industrial decision point. We look at the practical barriers facing facilities, sectors and regions, then work back to the policy, market, infrastructure and investment conditions needed for projects to proceed.