Making Long Duration Energy Storage Viable in Australia: Innovation, Investment and Global Partnerships

Agenda

• 9:00 am

  Registration and Networking

• 9:30 am

  Welcome to Country and Opening Remarks

  A formal Welcome to Country followed by opening remarks from: - Professor Bronwyn Fox AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise · UNSW - Ms. Shubhra Thakur, Director Policy and Markets, APAC & Country Director · India, Long Duration Energy Storage Council Facilitated by: Craig Peden, Business Development Manager, Industry & Innovation, UNSW

• 9:45 am

  Setting the Scene: Australia’s Energy Legacy & Future

  An conversation covering Australia’s role in global energy innovation, the lessons of solar commercialisation that LDES must absorb, why solar generation and long-duration storage are inseparable propositions, and the future role of LDES in the energy transition. Speakers: - Scientia Professor Martin Green · UNSW - Emeritus Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos · UNSW - Min Tang, Director of International Business Unit · Rongke Power Facilitated by: Gabriella Nunes, Research & Commercialisation Director, UNSW TRaCE

• 10:20 am

  Making LDES Viable in Australia: Technology, Markets and Global Partnerships

  Learning from other markets and playing to our strengths. Australia’s role in the LDES global value and supply chains and, the importance of international partnerships and opportunities between the LDES Council delegation and Australian institutions. Speakers: - Adam Dickens, Idemitsu Australia - Min Tang, Rongke Power (RKP) - Emma Peacock, Antora - Amin Moghimy, Sumitomo - Associate Professor Chris Menictas, UNSW - Professor Jie Bao, UNSW - Professor John Fletcher, UNSW Facilitated by: Craig Peden, Senior Business Development Manager, UNSW

• 11:15 am

  Short break

• 11:30 am

  Scaling LDES: Bridging Policy, Procurement and Finance for Commercial Deployments

  A moderated discussion exploring the policy, procurement and financing conditions needed to scale Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) from demonstration projects to commercial deployment in Australia. 1. Creating the Right Market Conditions: What policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are needed to accelerate LDES deployment? The discussion will cover investment barriers and bankability, industry demand signals (including data centres and large industrial users), grid resilience and renewable integration, as well as project financing models and revenue stacking. 2. Industrial Decarbonisation Opportunities: While electricity storage has received significant attention, industrial heat remains one of Australia's largest and most difficult decarbonisation challenges. This session will explore the role of LDES in supporting industrial electrification, reducing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, and increasing energy system flexibility. Speakers: - Shubhra Thakur, Director at LDES - Shane O'Kane, Director at the Guided Innovation Alliance - Carl Christiansen, General Manager, Grid and Storage at ARENA - Mark Swinnerton, CEO and Founder at Green Gravity - Mitch Burt, Industry Engagement Manager at HILT CRC - Jarrod Leak, CEO at Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity - Emma Peacock, Power System Analyst, Energy Storage Business at Antora - Adam Best, Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO - Amy Kean, Partner at Stride Renewables - Kira Rundel, Commercial Director at Rondo

• 12:30 pm

  Closing Remarks

  Summary of key outcomes and next steps.

• 12:40 pm

  Networking Lunch

• 2:00 pm

  Guided Research Facility Tours

  1. Vanadium Flow Battery Demonstration Facility - led by Associate Professor Chris Menictas 2. Real-Time Digital Simulator Laboratory - led by Professor John Fletcher 3. Battery and Energy Storage Research Facilities (SEB) - led by Professor Jie Bao 4. Mechanical and Manufacturing Energy Systems Laboratory (MECH) - led by Associate Professor Chris Menictas