How heavy industries can reduce carbon emissions and contribute...

How heavy industries can reduce carbon emissions and contribute to net zero
Australia’s 2050 net zero target relies almost exclusively on renewable energy, but experts say utilising a range of technologies will secure our industrial economy.

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This article was made in partnership with Low Emission Technology Australia, which is committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions.

As the world grapples with the mounting urgency of climate change, Australia’s net zero target by 2050 needs more contribution to the task.

Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a necessity, but technologies, including carbon capture, and utilising new fuel sources have a role to play.

When the Albanese government released the latest quarterly National Greenhouse Gas Inventory in August, emissions were estimated at 465.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for the year to March 2023, compared to 465.5 million tonnes from the previous year, underlining a need for stronger action on decarbonisation.

Australia's industrial economy, including the production of steel, cement, aluminium and fertiliser, provide crucial services but also present a challenge to net zero.

But rather than going down the path of deindustrialisation and moving industries offshore, finding a solution to slash their greenhouse gas emissions is integral.

“Modern society is still going to need to use steel, cement, aluminium, fertiliser and a whole range of industries to build our homes and feed our people, so for us there’s going to be a whole suite of industries that need to embrace carbon capture technologies and look to reduce their emissions,” Low Emission Technology Australia chief executive Mark McCallum said.


Carbon capture and storage, and producing other clean energy sources such as hydrogen and ammonia, could be the key to reducing heavy industry emissions.

This would keep Australia’s industrial economy healthy, while maintaining the path to net zero.

“The government is very keen on making sure Australia is self-sufficient in critical industries – and steel, cement, power, fertiliser are all critical industries that we should be self-sufficient in,” Mr McCallum said.

“For those industries we’ll need to find carbon capture solutions for them.”

Mr McCallum said avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach and instead using all available sources, including renewable energy, carbon capture and the development of other energy sources, will help Australia achieve its goal.

“We’re all working towards the same goal of decarbonising our industries, and we need to be open-minded and develop as many technology solutions as we can, so we can get to the goal as quickly and affordably as we can,” he said.

“Australia is very focused on renewables as the solution, and other jurisdictions around the world are looking at all solutions, all technologies, to make sure we find the best fitting technologies for the emission reduction challenges we face.

“Let’s not get to 2050 and then we’re done. It’s 2050 and beyond.

“We still want cement, we still want steel and fertiliser to grow our crops. We’ll either need to bring those things to Australia or keep producing them for ourselves – and to keep producing them for ourselves, we’ll need decarbonisation solutions.


“Renewables are part of that story – solar and wind have a big part to play – but we still want our industries that need power and to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and some of those don’t lend themselves to renewable energy.”

According to the International Energy Agency, around 40 commercial facilities are already applying carbon capture, utilisation and storage, including in the US, United Kingdom and Europe, with a capture capacity of 45 metric tonnes annually.

While carbon capture could be a key tool in reducing emissions, affordability is a concern.

“Carbon capture is a lot more accepted as one of the many mechanisms used to reduce carbon in industry in America and Europe than it is in Australia,” KC8 Capture Technologies executive director Greg Ross said.

“There are a multitude of technologies being developed around the world to bring that cost down, and we’re one of the leading ones.

“We have maybe four or five competitors internationally that are in similar development phases behind us, and we’re all targeting a US$40 per tonne benchmark.”

According to Mr Ross, KC8 could help reduce last year’s 465.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide through carbon capture projects, and heavy industry would reap the benefits, reducing the risk of closure.

“If we can get three or four big installations done quickly, we’ll be capturing over 500,000 tonnes per year in each one, so we could be several million tonnes better off by applying the technology, so that’s our target,” he said.


“If we end up getting into a position where they say you can't meet the threshold or safeguard mechanism, some of these industries don’t really have a choice, they can’t incrementally drop their CO2 by five per cent per year. It’s either on or it’s off.

“It could force some industries to go offshore where there’s no control, and then we lose more heavy industry in Australia than we have already.”

Mr Ross said federal government support is critical.

“The government doesn’t need to be binary. It’s a case of capture, in conjunction with solar, wind, hydrogen – all of these things are what’s going to achieve our 2030 and 2050 goals,” he said.

“Heavy industry needs it, they don’t have a choice. You can’t do anything with cement or chemicals without it, so by ignoring it you’re really ignoring those sectors, and they’re big industries here.

“The key message is people need to try and avoid the bias and just look at carbon capture on the basis that this is what is going to keep heavy industry operational until something better comes along in the future.”

Low Emission Technology Australia invests in technologies that significantly reduce carbon emissions as Australia continues its path towards net zero by 2050. To find out more visit their website LETA