The Albanese Government’s Safeguard reforms and investment from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) are helping cut emissions in half at one of Australia’s major explosive manufacturing sites.
The ribbon cutting for the industry-first technology happened at Orica’s Kooragang Island facility today.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has previously invested $25 million towards Orica’s $37 million decarbonisation project which will cut more than 567,000 tonnes of emissions from the facility a year.
Under the Safeguard Mechanism reforms passed by the Albanese Government in March, Australia’s biggest emitters have policy certainty to invest in their pathway to net zero emissions.
As a whole, these reforms will deliver more than 200 million tonnes of emissions reduction by 2030 – and today’s announcement demonstrates a big Australian manufacturer, Orica, doing their bit for that task.
Orica is using tertiary catalyst abatement technology to capture nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 265 times more potent than carbon dioxide and a by-product of explosives production – to deliver a 48 per cent emissions reduction at the Kooragang Island manufacturing plant.
Visiting the Orica site, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the project was an example of the Government’s Safeguard reforms delivering certainty for Australian industry on the road to net zero.
“The government is proud to be working in partnership with companies like Orica as they use innovative technology to reduce their emissions,” Minister Bowen said.
“This is exactly the type of innovation that our safeguard reforms incentivise, helping industrial emitters reduce their emissions while staying competitive.
“We congratulate Orica investing in technology that helps protect job security for the over 250 employees at the Kooragang Island facility – ensuring they remain competitive in a decarbonising global economy.”
Orica Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gandhi said the project clearly demonstrates that with the right policy settings and corporate commitments, emissions reduction is possible in hard-to-abate industries of our economy.
“The policy certainty from the passage of the Government’s Safeguard reforms means we can now continue to accelerate our decarbonisation plans with confidence.
“We will continue to invest across our operations, to ensure Australian manufactured products remain competitive as the world transitions to a lower carbon economy,” Mr Gandhi said.
