Capital

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Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) and South Korea’s LS Electric signed a major agreement to develop new integrated battery storage systems for data centres and other large buildings. The two companies will begin by selling joint products, offering data centre operators integrated switchgear and power management to control and distribute the power for running critical systems without interruption. Over time, they aim to expand the partnership globally to identify efficiency gains across thousands of sites to make energy-hungry AI more sustainable.

Viva Energy’s (ASX: VEA) newly commissioned Karratha facility for storing Shell products cuts over 1000km of sea transportation of product via the previous circuitous journey from Singapore to Fremantle and then up to the Pilbara, and eliminates more than 450,000km of annual road freight. An added bonus from shortening the supply chain for the mining and gas industry was a reduction in associated transport emissions by cutting the distance travelled by around 30%, General Manager of Resources and Lubricants Kerry Watson said.

Projects

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Equis’ $950 million Bell Bay Wind Farm will receive Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) support, marking Tasmania’s first project to be backed by the revenue safety net program. Tasmania negotiated 4TW hours of scheme capacity, equivalent to around 1,200MW of new renewable energy generation, under the Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement (RETA) signed with the federal government this year. “Securing this first scheme project demonstrates that Tasmania’s clean energy potential is being recognised at a national level,” Energy Minister Nick Duigan said.

Overall, CIS Tender 4 was highly competitive, drawing 84 bids representing 25.6GW, more than four times the 6GW target, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The 20 successful projects will provide 6.6GW of new renewable generation capacity by the end of 2030.

Edify Energy, for example, was awarded an agreement for the 300MW Smoky Creek and 300MW Guthrie’s Gap Solar Power Stations, co-located near Biloela in central Queensland, and the 300MW Nowingi Solar Power Station in northwest Victoria. These landmark projects will bring further capacity to the Queensland and Victorian markets, including 900MW/3,600MWh of battery storage. Shared community and First Nations benefits for the Biloela and Carwarp regions were estimated at more than $28 million, plus more than $1.5 billion for local suppliers and businesses over the life of the projects.

Registrations opened for CIS Tender 7, targeting 5GW of NEM generation capacity. ASL said projects that were unsuccessful in CIS Tender 4 are “able, and encouraged” to participate.

Policy

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Former industry minister Ed Husic called for “use it or lose it” provision for gas to prevent foreign countries such as Japan from onselling Australian gas, as the latest bailout package for a big energy user reignited calls for a domestic gas reserve advocacy. (ABC)

Tasmanian Energy Minister Nick Duigan says the state should not be penalised for already producing green aluminium. Duigan called for governments to work together to secure the future of the Bell Bay industrial precinct and Bell Bay Aluminium, which he said was one of Australia’s greenest smelters. But there is uncertainty over the smelter’s eligibility to receive support through the federal government’s Green Aluminium Production Credit. “Bell Bay Aluminium is a key part of Australia’s low emissions manufacturing future and deserves the same support as mainland smelters,” the state’s Industry Minister Felix Ellis said.

Regulation

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Former Queensland Chief Scientist and noted ecologist Hugh Possingham has weighed into the conversation about the land area needed for Australia's energy transition, saying the existing Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conversation Act (EPBC Act) was not working as intended or needed. The EPBC Act has been slated for reform for many years, with Environment Minister Murray Watt making its revision a priority during this term. (The Australian)

Technology

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China's apparent cost advantage in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) could reshape industrial competitiveness as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism takes effect from 2026. European power generators face carbon capture costs around US$300 per tonne that render most projects uneconomic, according to a Wood Mackenzie analysis. Meanwhile, China claims to build equivalent facilities more than twice as fast as European and American counterparts with CCUS costs of roughly US$30-40/tCO2.

A new process makes it easier to recycle the chemical elements used to make the strongest permanent magnets, such as those found in hard drives and EV motors. The process rapidly heats demagnetized waste placed on carbon paper in the presence of chlorine gas. The separation process relies on simple chemistry — differences in the temperatures at which various metals readily react with chlorine. (IEEE Spectrum)

Climate

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The data-driven Carbon Brief website fact-checked what the UK Climate Change Act does – and does not – mean for the country, correcting inaccurate comments as the UK’s political right veers further away from the previous consensus on climate action. “It was the Tories who wrote it and it was the Labour Party who accepted it – and all parties supported it,” Lord Deben points out.

Research

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Providing fresh insights for policymakers on improving well-being and productivity, a study by researchers including Xinxiong Wu of Wollongong University examines the influence of energy poverty on work-life balance — a critical yet often overlooked dimension.

Random

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Most Reform UK voters support investment in renewable energy, polling by YouGov shows, suggesting some politicians have grossly misjudged public opinion on net zero efforts. (Independent)