Western Australia and Solar/Hydrogen with Professor Peter Newman AO

Given the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the community, AIIA WA for the first time is trialling a hybrid event. Members and guests are most welcome to attend this event in person, but an option to attend, from the comfort of your home, an interactive webinar of the event is available. As this is a trial and the first time some of the technology involved will be used, AIIA WA will not be charging for the webinar option. If you choose to register for the Webinar, please note that a link to the Webinar will be sent to your provided email address one hour prior to the event commencing. 

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At our March event, Professor Peter Newman AO, an author of the next IPCC mitigation report, will show how producing solar energy and green hydrogen is likely to transform Western Australia’s economy in a geopolitically significant way.

The existing geopolitical order of manufacturing was based firstly in places near coal in Europe and America and then to wherever coal and gas could be shipped easily. That world is changing. Solar and wind energy are now cheaper than any other form of power and it is needed for all parts of the zero carbon economy. Solar and wind-based electricity are needed to make Green Hydrogen which is the only real option to decarbonise process industries. Thus solar power and hydrogen will be the basis of processing minerals and hence down-stream manufacturing. Hydrogen is fundamentally difficult to store and shipping will be extremely expensive.  This is a thermodynamic necessity with geopolitical implications. The world will move towards the production of solar power and green hydrogen near to where minerals are mined.

WA has huge potential to generate solar and wind power in regional areas near mineral deposits required for this new zero carbon economy.  Solar and wind are already being procured for local mining and in the production of Green Hydrogen for use locally. This shift in geopolitics needs to be understood.  Professor Newman will show how Western Australia could become a major source of processed minerals (green steel and green aluminium), food products, and even manufacturing of batteries and electric vehicles. The potential to transform our economy from that of a primary commodities exporter to that of a high quality zero carbon producer will need a completely new set of partnerships between governments and industry.

About the speaker

Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University. Peter has written 23books and over 370 papers on sustainable cities and decarbonization policy. He has worked to deliver his ideas in all levels of government having been an elected councilor, seconded to advise three Premiers and on the Board of Infrastructure Australia 2008-14. He is the Co-ordinating Lead Author for the UN’s IPCC on Transport. In 2014 he was awarded an Order of Australia for his contributions to urban design and sustainable transport. In 2018/19 he was the WA Scientist of the Year.