Conference Day One - Wednesday, 4 September

08:00
Registration and welcome coffee

09:00
Opening remarks from the Chair

Marghanita Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Aluminium Council

Building and refining an effective net zero plan in the hard to abate sector
09:10
INTERNATIONAL ADDRESS: Identifying the key barriers to the transition for industry and finding pathways to net zero

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway line under construction in England. HS2’s Net Zero carbon plan targets both the construction of the project as well as operational energy and maintenance needs.

  • Assessing low carbon technologies (hydrogen, biogas, ccs, heavy vehicles, intermittency of renewables, need for long term storage) and choosing the most appropriate
  • What are the most effective policies to nurture and encourage emissions reduction?
  • Dealing with market challenges (eg negative pricing, rising energy prices)
  • Setting ambitions based on benchmarking and reviews of what else is being done across the industry

Andrea Davidson
Head of Carbon & Climate Change
HS2 (High Speed Two) United Kingdom

09:40
Creating a robust carbon roadmap by analysing results of current initiatives
  • Creating an Australia/New Zealand platform for reporting emission types across multiple sites
  • Breaking down and analysing the effectiveness of specific actions at specific locations
  • Enabling robust decision making by identifying carbon savings

Tamara Sling-Ronen
Environment Director
Lion Co

Deploying abatement technologies to get to net zero
10:10
INTERNATIONAL ADDRESS: Strategizing the pathways for industries and manufacturers locked into fossil fuels as heat sources
  • Deploying energy efficiency initiatives and switching fuels at manufacturing sites to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
  • Commissioning high temperature heat pump and solar thermal plant combination to reduce the natural gas required
  • Using natural gas as an interim measure with longer-term energy transition solutions focussed on electrification and renewable energy

Linda Mulvihill
General Manager of Energy & Climate
Fonterra (New Zealand)

10:40
Morning tea
11:10
Developing infrastructure to support the decarbonisation of high emissions industries
  • CCS hubs and the benefits of networked carbon removal services
  • Examining current commercials and how viability can be improved
  • Understanding the permitting pathway to reach CCS deployment

Donna Findlay
Executive Director, The CarbonNet Project
Vic Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

11:40
Energy solutions of the future - the connected business, reducing demand and the role of VPPs

AEMO's ISP notes the importance of demand side activity, where both businesses and households take action to reduce their demand on the grid and calls for the facilitation of 37 GW flexible capacity for the NEM by 2050, an 80-fold increase from today.

  • How industrial businesses can reduce demand and achieve guaranteed energy savings through Energy as a Service
  • Leveraging flexible demand to help stabilise the grid, optimise energy use and generate business value

Liam Barry
General Manager, Commercial
Origin Zero

Peter O’Connell
Managing Director and Co-founder
Climatech Zero

12:10
Navigating the uncertain path to net zero
  • Capitalising on the advantages of being an early adopter of abatement technology
  • Reviewing the value of a circular mindset
  • Exploring the role of partnerships in achieving net zero
  • Creating a carbon aware culture

Mussaret Nagree
General Manager, Climate Opportunities
Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers

12:40
Lunch
Justifying the CAPEX of emissions reduction
13:40
PANEL DISCUSSION: Building the business case for investment in emission reduction/elimination tech
  • What are useful approaches to analyse long-term financial implications and potential returns on investment in emission reduction technologies?
  • How do you evaluate the environmental and social risks associated with different emission reduction strategies?
  • What are effective ways to develop strategies to mitigate financial risks and uncertainties in adopting new emission reduction technologies or processes?
  • How do you form co-operatives and work with partners to manage capex and make investment in low carbon tech more viable?

Moderator:

Donna Findlay
Executive Director, The CarbonNet Project
Vic Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Panellists:

Jenny Selway
Chief Executive Officer
HILT CRC

Tamara Sling-Ronen
Environment Director
Lion Co

Antony Taylor
Head of Safety, Health, Environment, Security
Orica

Raj Lekhwar
Group Sustainability Manager
QUBE Holdings

Peter Haenke
Investment Manager
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

14:20
Exploring the importance of partnership in meeting industry’s decarbonisation challenge
  • Analysing the need for better coordination on the electricity/renewable gas supply versus demand
  • Defining roles for technical experts, energy retailers, energy distributors, and financiers
  • Real life examples of what’s working (and what’s not) in New Zealand
  • Benchmarking current levels of decarbonisation literacy in Australia and internationally

Jeff Smit
Director - GM Strategy and Business Development
DETA

14:50
Afternoon tea
Interactive group discussions
15:20

Discuss ideas, gain practical tips, and work through your net zero challenges. You’ll have the invaluable opportunity to meet leaders across several sectors and hear their perspectives. Drill down into specific topics while you network and build relationships with people you otherwise may not have access to. You will be able to choose three of the below, with each roundtable running concurrently over three time slots:

Round 1: 15:20-15:50 | Round 2: 15:50-16:20 | Round 3: 16:20-16:50

Topics:

1. Examining the role of Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) in reaching net zero

Donna Findlay
Executive Director, The CarbonNet Project
Vic Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

2. Heat pumps to increase energy efficiency and decrease emissions

Jarrod Leak
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP)

3. Reducing the costs and risk of low emissions technologies through partnerships

Jenny Selway
Chief Executive Officer
HILT CRC

4. Handling a changing regulatory system around net zero – what are the most important policies and regulations for industry?

Tennant Reed
Director – Climate Change and Energy
Australian Industry Group (Ai Group)

5. Working with contractors and OEMs to decarbonise the whole supply chain

Andrea Davidson
Head of Carbon & Climate Change
HS2 (High Speed Two)

6. Opportunities for biomethane in decarbonising manufacturing, with a focus on processes that require heating (steam etc)

Shahana McKenzie
Chief Executive Officer
Bioenergy Australia

7. Practical strategies for collaborating between government, industry and community to progress investment in place-based industry hubs

Eric Kimmel
Program Manager, New Low Carbon Industrial Foundations
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW)

Gary Foster
Manager – Hydrogen Programs
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW)

8. How businesses can use VPPs to shift demand, optimise energy costs and support the transition

Andrew Cleland
General Manager, Business Products & Technology
Origin Zero

Haaris Jamil
Energy Intensives & Technology Lead
Origin Zero

9. What are the specific things that heavy energy users need to consider when building energy purchase contracts?

Jackie McKeon
Program Director
Business Renewables Centre Australia (BRC-A)

16:50
Closing remarks from the Chair
17:00
End of day one and start of networking drinks