Australia's green bank is writing cheques for net-zero projects as Europe and North America muscle up with massive tax breaks to attract capital for energy transition materials.
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"Australia's mining and resources sector has a crucial role to play in the transition to net zero emissions by 2050," Clean Energy Finance Corporation sector expert Jacqueline Lane told AAP during a mining conference.
"We are also witnessing emerging green premiums, underpinned by global carbon reduction policies that are incentivising mines to production."
But China, where environmental and labour standards are lower, has the stranglehold over factory-ready supplies after a 30-year head-start on electric cars and battery manufacturing.
However, as the uptake of electric vehicles continues to grow and energy storage solutions around batteries requiring lithium supplies increases, Australia's abundant critical minerals will be central to the future energy mix, Ms Lane said.
The focus on decarbonisation by mining companies is also accelerating the adoption of new technologies and energy efficiency.
"This is having a positive impact on the mining equipment, technology and services ecosystem in Australia," she said.
But cyclical commodity markets remain a key driver of project development, she added.
The green bank's mandate is to drum up public and private investment to support net-zero ambitions, but the bulk of its taxpayer capital has gone to projects that generate renewable energy rather than raw materials.
Commitments reached $12.7 billion across more than 300 large-scale transactions by the end of 2022/23.
A funding boost in the last federal budget is largely focused on "rewiring the nation", but a new Powering Australia Technology Fund can support niche projects around clean energy technologies in mining.
The CEFC committed $21 milllion to the RCF Jolimont Mining Innovation Fund for technologies that have the potential to make mining more sustainable.
The private equity fund is backing Australian companies working on software, technology and equipment to reduce pollution in the emissions-intensive mining sector, including using old mine shafts for energy storage and electrifying haul trucks.
The first CEFC direct investment into the renewable energy supply chain went to lithium producer Pilbara Minerals.
Some $50 million was allocated as a cornerstone investment in the initial construction and development of the Pilgangoora Project, one of the world's biggest deposits.
It also required Pilbara Minerals to set sustainability targets, install renewable energy, measure emissions and disclose climate-related financial risk to encourage a more sustainable way of doing business.
That finance, which protected Pilbara Minerals during difficult market conditions three years ago, has since been repaid.
Australian Associated Press
