World-leader in Clean Energy & Decarbonisation

UNSW Sydney is Australia’s world-leading decarbonisation, recycling and clean energy university

UNSW Sydney is uniquely well-placed to co-host and deliver this strategically important event on decarbonisation with Austrade. No other Australian university boast s the breadth of expertise, capabilities and track record in this area and with our strong focus on developing meaningful and mutually beneficial research and educational relationships with Japanese industry and academia, we consider ourselves a natural choice to host day 1 of the summit.

As one of the World’s Top 50 Universities, UNSW is ranked number 1 in Australia for both Engineering and Technology, we are an education and research-intensive university, delivering outstanding teaching alongside cutting-edge research. Established in 1949 with a unique focus on the scientific, technological and professional disciplines, UNSW is a world-leading Australian university committed to making a difference through pioneering research and preparing the next generation of talented global citizens for career success.

We are a powerhouse of cutting-edge research, teaching and innovation, improving lives through excellence in research and education, and a commitment to advancing a just society. As one of the world’s leading research and technology hubs for clean energy innovation, our portfolio of capabilities boasts world-class credentials and the potential for real impact in the transition to a clean energy future.

We have established ourselves as a hub of expertise with the capability to deliver innovative solutions to clean tech challenges in a range of research fields Our academics provide expertise and insight into opportunities across transformational areas including clean fuels, renewables, grid decarbonisation, transport electrification, energy storage and policy Our esteemed reputation in these fields and our strong links to other leading research organisations and key industry partners will enable us to create an impactful network best placed to address the issues faced by NSW.

As a Global University, we aim to have an impact on people’s lives around the world. Our 65,000plus students come from 128 countries, making us one of Australia’s most cosmopolitan universities. We are proud of our national and international networks, which support our belief that strength through collaboration and generosity in partnerships will enable society to solve its greatest challenges. Our international and regional partnerships, first-class academics, and state-of-the-art facilities mean our students graduate with relevant, highly sought -after skills. UNSW is a founding member of both the Group of Eight, a coalition of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, and the prestigious Universitas 21 international network. We have partnerships with major universities across the world to amplify our expertise and help solve the world’s biggest issues.

UNSW is at the fore front of the Australian transformation to a low carbon economy

Australia’s transition to a low-carbon economy requires the nexus between energy and carbon emissions. A decarbonised future for Australia and the world can be realised if we rapidly deploy new technology solutions by accelerating investment in research commercialisation, especially in hard-to-abate sectors of the economy. An integrative, strategic, and collaborative and globally minded approach is pivotal in achieving this outcome. UNSW’s unique value proposition for Clean Energy and Decarbonisation success comprises:

• Outstanding capabilities: UNSW boasts Australia’s greatest concentration of Clean Energy research expertise, accounting for 44% of the nation’s research (>198 initiatives) across 7 industry sectors.

• Technology pipeline: A Clean Energy commercialisation pipeline that exceeds 138 innovations/inventions across TRLs 3-9, aligned to the NMPs (67% hardware/products, 33% processes/services).

• Unique infrastructure: UNSW hosts a number of cutting-edge, world-class energy and climate facilities including Sydney-based laboratory and analytical services (Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, Pilot MICROfactories™) o World-first ‘green steel’ technology: revolutionising steelmaking in Australia, and internationally, with Molycop o PERC technology: over 90% of solar panels produced globally rely on our PERC technology. o MICROfactoriesTM technology: converting waste plastics, textiles, glass, and e-waste into new products. We have a proud track record of commercialising research such as solar panels, energy storage, Green Steel and various MICROfactorie technologies led by 2022 NSW Australian of the Year, ARC Laureate Professor, Veena Sahajwalla. o Lavo: world-first integrated hydrogen storage delivering reliable green energy.

• Leading collaboration: We are a collaborative University with ties to other Sydney and NSW universities. The NUW Alliance is a collaboration for purpose, by 4 universities – the University of Newcastle, UNSW, the University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University – pursuing scale collaborations that unlock new value, impact and benefit for communities across NSW. NUW Alliance foundation partners host five existing ARC/ARENA/NESP funded national Recycling and Clean Energy Centres/Hubs. The Alliance geography encompasses >75% of NSW’s population. Our scale is unprecedented in Australian higher education and research, comprising 194,000 students plus 14,500 staff, across 37 locations including 15 innovation hubs and driving $850m in research funding.

• Engaged industry: We have strong links to industry including a formidable track record for successful commercialisation of Clean Energy IP.

Our Research Hubs and Centres, primarily Commonwealth and State Government funded, highlight the vast expertise and capabilities focused on decarbonisation, clean energy & recycling research and technologies at UNSW. For example:

• NSW Government’s Decarbonisation Innovation Hub and three associated networks across electrification and energy systems, power fuels including hydrogen, and land and primary industries. This is a key element of delivering the $750M State Government Net Zero Decarbonisation Strategy to 2030

Based at UNSW Sydney, the Hub is a key part of the NSW state government's Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program and brings together government, industry, and researchers to fast-track technologies to decarbonise NSW. The decision for UNSW to host this hub reflects our vision of being a catalyst for an environmentally sustainable future through collaborative research, partnership and innovation The Hub showcases UNSW’s world-class capabilities in decarbonisation and serve as a centerpiece for our research in this area, will involve researchers from the faculties of Arts, Design & Architecture, Engineering and Science, activities will take place across the state with partners operating under three networks:

Electrification and Energy Systems – led by UNSW Engineering Professor John Fletcher, to accelerate renewable energy solutions and support the uptake of electrification in other sectors.

Land and Primary Industries – led by WSU Professor Benjamin Smith to coordinate and align efforts in the next wave of sustainable primary industry practices. The sector is a significant contributor to NSW’s emissions.

Power Fuels including Hydrogen – led by UNSW Engineering Scientia Professor Rose Amal, to grow a sustainable NSW hydrogen industry and unlock decarbonisation opportunities for many hard-to-abate sectors beyond 2030.

• Australian Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE)

TRaCE is a $280M program with ~$100M cash investment from 27 foundation industry partners, $50M combined cash investment from UNSW and the University of Newcastle (UoN), as well as $50M from the Commonwealth. It will be the first fully integrated ecosystem for recycling and clean energy research commercialisation in Australia and aims to accelerate the translation of disruptive technologies out of the lab and into local manufacturing and global deployment. The TRaCE program spans the innovation lifecycle, from research and development through to de-risking, demonstration, deployment, and manufacturing, and is underpinned by critical workforce skills, cultural change, and university workplace reform. TRaCE will create 52 new patents, bring 63 new products to market, stimulate up to 5,200 jobs, avoid 180MT greenhouse gas emissions and contribute up to $15bn to GDP.

• ARC Training Centre on Global Hydrogen Econom y (2021-2026): $7.5M from ARC and industry partners, led by Prof Rose Amal

• Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (2012- 2022): $85M from ARENA and industry partners, with $45M extension to 2030 under negotiation, led by Prof Martin Green and Prof Renate Egan.

• ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions (2020- 2025): $5M from ARC and industry partners, led by Prof Jie Bao.

• ARC Research Hub for Microrecycling of Battery and Consumer Wastes (20212025): $6M from ARC and industry partners, led by Prof Veena Sahajwalla.

• National Environmental Science Program

• ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes

• ARC Training Centre for the Global Hydrogen Economy

• NSW P2X Network

• Solar Industrial Research Facility manufacturing plant

• ARC Industry Transformation Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS) in Urban, Resources and Energy Sectors, with WSU

• The German-Australi an Alliance for Electrochemical Technologies for the Storage of Renewable Energy (CENELEST)

• Chronos 14Carbon-Cycle Facility

• Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre

• Climate Change Research Centre

• UNSW Energy Institute

• Digital Grid Futures Institute

• The Collaboration for Energy and Environmental Markets

• High Performance Architecture and City Futures Research Centre

• Practical Justice Initiative Climate Research Stream

Powerhouse partnerships

Our strategic partnerships help us realise real-world impact and our research is recognised on the global stage.

Some of these partnerships include:

• International Universities Climate Alliance

• The George Institute for Global Health

• PLuS Alliance with Arizona State University and King’s College

London

• NUW Alliance with the University of Newcastle, the University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University

• UNSW Defence Research Institute

• TEDI-London

• Sydney Quantum Academy

Research strengths

• Water, climate, environment and sustainability including Clean Energy & Decarbonisation

• Next generation materials and technologies

• Biomedical sciences

• Social policy, government and health policy

• ICT, robotics and devices

• Law, business and economics

• Fundamental and enabling sciences

• Contemporary humanities and creative arts

• Defence and security