DEFENCE CAN PLAY LEADING ROLE IN ENERGY TRANSITION

By Miranda Taylor,

CEO, National Energy Resources Australia

The Australian defence sector currently accounts for 70% of the Australian Government’s energy consumption. At the same time, the pace of change across the entire energy landscape is accelerating and the uptake of renewable energy is growing faster than any other fuel in history, driven in part by technological developments, scale and decreasing costs, but also by overwhelming evidence of the risks, costs and impacts of climate change.

Globally, financiers are increasingly factoring carbon risk into their investment decisions, and nations, industries and individual businesses are pursuing a vast range of new energy and technology initiatives to achieve net zero targets. There are major implications from all this for the defence sector and for Australia’s sovereign capabilities and security.

Much of the current debate around how to manage and accelerate the decarbonisation of entire economies is playing out in political, economic and technical arenas. The need to address critically important and strategic issues for Australia such as maintaining security and reliability in the supply of energy resources – is all essential in the context of maintaining Australia’s sovereign and defence capabilities.

In addition, every industry sector, including Defence, will need to identify and navigate their optimum path through the energy transition, both on the demand side by reducing energy consumption, improving operational efficiencies and deploying smart technologies, and on the supply side through access to a diverse range of secure, clean, reliable and affordable energy solutions. ENERGY & DEFENCE SYMBIOSIS

Indeed, 100% reliability of energy supply is vital for Defence computer systems, control centres and increasing automation. There are major implications for the defence sector across all military activities, infrastructure, equipment (including transport) and the range of operational environments and locations. Given the multiple locations, infrastructure, assets and activities across the defence sector, energy solutions will not be ‘one size fits all’ but rather ‘designed for specific needs’.

Globally, the defence sector has been a major driving force in the development of many technologies that are helping transform the energy system. Military technology has long delivered positive (and sometimes negative) benefits to civilian life; computers, the internet, radar and microwaves, GPS, jet engines, night vision, UAVs, space technologies can all trace roots back to defence investment. As the energy transition continues it seems reasonable that this symbiosis will continue, with technologies flowing in both directions. Cross sector collaboration will be key.

The energy transition is already, and will continue to be, supported by significant advances in technologies. For example, there have been rapid developments in the components and technologies underpinning batteries and electric vehicles. With many nations also moving to ban the sale of hydrocarbon vehicles over the next decade and introducing strategies for decarbonising their transport sectors, the uptake of electric and hydrogen fuel cell transport is growing. However, ongoing technological advancements, commercial scale and decreasing costs will be the critical factors in making them competitive and driving their market penetration and domination.

The design and operation of the energy networks and grids are also being influenced by technology, and by the need to manage the integration of increasing amounts of renewable/intermittent energy into the energy system. The reliable, affordable and secure delivery of clean energy will be dependent on the successful deployment and inter-operability of smart/ digital technologies that efficiently and effectively manage supply and demand.

Smart technologies are facilitating a number of other significant developments. Smart technology enables improvements in operational efficiencies and minimisation of energy waste and puts control into the hands of the consumer, enabling demand management. Growth of Distributed Energy systems (DES), built around fully integrated energy systems that include the deployment of local microgrids,

At the APPEA 2021 expo in Perth, NERA hosted a three-day H2 Technology Zone, offering SMEs working in the hydrogen sector the chance to showcase their technology as part of the industry’s effort to solve the ‘H2 under $2’ challenge. © NERA.

depending on location, can be combined with onshore or offshore wind, solar, hydrogen, desalination, batteries and digital technologies. DES will play a significant role in delivering regional, localised and flexible energy solutions, including in remote locations.

The central role that digital technology will increasingly play across entire energy networks brings with it one major strategic challenge – the need for rigorous cyber security protection measures to be developed, implemented and maintained to prevent cyber-attacks on vital energy assets.

In recent times, we have witnessed some deeply concerning cyber-attacks related to the energy sector, with (in at least one instance) oil and gas network operators essentially being locked out of their systems pending ransom demands. The potential for the malicious attack on, and destruction of, a critical power facility means the energy and defence sector leaders must proactively engage and partner with industry to address this major risk. ROLE OF FUTURE FUELS & REMOTE POWER SYSTEMS

While the future role, potential uses, customers, scale of production and export of future fuels - including LNG, hybrid, synthetic, hydrogen and bio - are still being determined both within Australia and globally (alongside the issue of the scaling and deployment of the enabling technologies) they are likely to be a game changer in some important ways. The defence industry could be a catalyst for technology deployment in key areas, for example: • Fuel aircraft, ships and vehicles.

Fuel consumption represents a large proportion of total ADF energy use.

The Department of Defence relies on petroleum for approximately 77% of its energy needs. Future fuel for defence transport and mobility is likely to be a mix e.g. LNG, hybrid, biofuels, hydrogen, and is driving research collaboration and technology developments in areas such as electrolysers and fuel cells, to enable the transition. • Remote Area Power Systems (RAPS).

The defence sector has already invested in solar, battery and microgrid projects, and renewable driven RAPS have been deployed successfully around the world. Traditional dieselbased RAPS have a high cost due to the need to import fuel via truck to remote locations, and carry a high carbon footprint. With reductions in the cost of hydrogen and the fuel cells needed

to generate electricity, renewable energy and hydrogen-based RAPS could be commercially competitive with diesel equivalents. The economics can be improved if hydrogen can have multiple uses on a single defence site, exemplified by transport, heat and wastewater management. • Storage. Storage of hydrogen could also be cost competitive if delivered in a localised way close to point of need.

Technologies include compression, liquification, materials carriers. OPPORTUNITY & RISK

The urgency and reality of climate change impact coupled with the advancement of digital/smart technology and a need to build Australia’s sovereign security and resilience are driving new partnerships across industry sectors that weren’t imaginable a decade ago.

The technologies used to power our economy and entire industry sectors, as well as move our populations, are rapidly changing, opening a range of opportunities - the potential for economic growth and future prosperity - but also major risks that must be understood and addressed. The defence industry has a leading role to play in helping Australia navigate the road through this complex but exciting future.