Make it Here: Building Australia's Clean Industrial Future

The world’s clean technology future can be made in Australia

May 2024

$215 billion in cumulative revenue and up to 53,000 additional ongoing jobs by 2035

Could be created if Australia takes bold action to boost Australian manufacturing capabilities and grow five onshore cleantech supply chains. Australia possesses the necessary natural resources, innovation capabilities, and manufacturing capacity to play an important role in the global energy transition. Smart investment in supply chains is critical for Australia’s energy security, long-term jobs market and decarbonisation efforts.

Let's build on our innovation

This report underscores the critical need for decisive action to best harness Australia’s abundant resources and raw minerals as the world accelerates efforts to move to net zero. Australia can play a significant role in the global energy transition with its endowment of raw materials for key cleantech, move from “dig and ship” at the top of the supply chain to “mine and make”, shift from a major exporter of emissions, to a major exporter of emissions-reducing technology and establish sovereign capability in key supply chains essential to Australia’s energy security, job creation and decarbonisation.

Let's build on our innovation

This report underscores the critical need for decisive action to best harness Australia’s abundant resources and raw minerals as the world accelerates efforts to move to net zero. Australia can play a significant role in the global energy transition with its endowment of raw materials for key cleantech, move from “dig and ship” at the top of the supply chain to “mine and make”, shift from a major exporter of emissions, to a major exporter of emissions-reducing technology and establish sovereign capability in key supply chains essential to Australia’s energy security, job creation and decarbonisation.

Download the report

Key recommendations:

Supply-side subsidies to enable Australian industry to compete, and to attract foreign investment from global cleantech companies

Grow the demand, and demand certainty, for Australian-made cleantech

Cleantech manufacturing to be predominantly placed in Renewable Energy Industrial Precincts (REIPs)

Ensure the establishment of a full circular economy for each clean technology

Industry leaders support this research

Establish a 5GW solar industry, creating 6,000 ongoing, advanced manufacturing jobs (for regional Australians in transition communities) that will create over $14 billion in revenue

Ambitiously deploy wind energy, growing the local industry to meet 36% of demand, generating 2,000 jobs and ensuring Australia can build the turbines it needs, while generating $35 billion in revenue

Capitalise on our wealth of transition minerals by establishing battery chemistry industries, and build up to five gigafactories to supply batteries for both domestic energy storage and manufacturing commercial EVs, creating 20,000 jobs, and generating $114 billion in revenue by 2035

Build 35% of Australia's heat pumps, generating at least 7,000 manufacturing jobs and $17 billion by 2035

Build 40% of Australia's electric buses and trucks, creating over 18,000 manufacturing jobs over the next decade and adding $37 billion to Australia’s economy

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Growth in demand by 2035 will be way more than 3-fold

The global energy transition is gathering momentum. The global forecast for cleantech demand growth is substantial and the world will need to massively scale up clean energy supply over the next 10-15 years.

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Cleantech manufacturing needs Australian minerals and materials

Australia ranks highly for its raw material reserves. In the short-to-medium term there are opportunities for Australia to grow production of critical commodities.

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Australia's supply chain opportunities

As demand for cleantech and the necessary materials skyrockets, Australia has a huge opportunity to move down the value chain (from the “dig and ship” where mining dominates to “mine and make”) for significant economic reward.

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Scaling up our battery supply chain will create the highest revenue, the most jobs, and have a major impact on our energy security.

Location is key in the rollout of renewables

Renewable Energy Industrial Precincts (REIPs) are an efficient way to revitalise Australia’s industrial centres with low-cost renewable energy, to power the industries of the future. Ideally, REIPs should be located in existing industrial centres, to benefit from skilled workforces, ports and roads, and from rail and energy infrastructure. Also, the rollout of renewables must consider nature and communities.

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Deploy Clean Technology

For Australia to meet emission reduction targets, significant new units of each clean technology will need to be deployed onshore.

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Australia's Existing Supply Chain Capabilities

Energy security and low-cost energy is the cornerstone of Australia’s ability to bring down emissions and become a renewable energy and export powerhouse. Concentrated global cleantech supply chains and projected materials shortages represent a risk to sovereign security, but can become an opportunity for Australia if it invests in cleantech supply chains, particularly in manufacturing, right now.

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Australia needs to further grow activity in the manufacturing part of the supply chain, capturing more of the value and creating significant benefits onshore.

Beyond Zero Emissions' latest research underscores the criticality of establishing sovereign cleantech capabilities. Australia has a long and demonstrated history in leading solar innovation and the recommendations in BZE’s report can help us to continue that world-leading innovation, and realise the opportunities of an Australian-made clean energy future.

Ali McDonald

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Head of Corporate Affairs and Partnerships, SunDrive

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