CSIRO-led consortium eyes new NT Hub to achieve rapid emissions reduction across Northern Australia

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CSIRO has partnered with the Northern Territory Government, industry and engineering companies to carve out a path towards rapid emissions reduction across the energy sector in Northern Australia.

Led by CSIRO, the new consortium will seek to develop a business case to assess the viability of a large-scale low emissions Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Hub outside of Darwin and to outline options to significantly reduce the emissions of the Territory’s gas industry.

According to CSIRO’s statement, the Low Emissions CCUS Hub would be based on Darwin’s Middle Arm Peninsular in the NT.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall, said the Hub would both significantly reduce emissions, but also catalyse the growth of an interconnected hydrogen industry and the utilisation of the carbon dioxide captured in other industrial processes, such as production of other non-fossil fuel alternatives for transportation.

“As Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO is always looking for ways to bring business and government together to envision and deliver a more sustainable future for some of our largest industries,” Dr Marshall said.

“The NT Hub could create new jobs and export pathways, and give Australia a global advantage by pushing the boundaries of science and technology to put home-grown innovation into real world demonstration projects, including through our Hydrogen Industry mission.”

According to CSIRO, industry and engineering companies who have committed to collaborating on the business case include Santos, INPEX, Woodside, Eni, Origin Energy and Xodus.

Image credit: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/News-releases/2021/CSIRO-and-partners-scope-NT-Hub-to-lower-emissions-and-boost-investment#photosection