ARENA renewable energy technology funding

Overview

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced two distinct funding initiatives aimed at advancing renewable energy technologies in Australia.

In October 2026, ARENA committed multimillion-dollar support to the Realising Electric Vehicle-to-Grid Services 2 (REVS2) project. This three-year trial, involving the ACT Government fleet and supported by JET Charge, will utilize up to 130 electric vehicles to test how bidirectional charging can support the electricity grid by storing and supplying renewable energy during peak demand.

Concurrently, ARENA announced funding for an industrial heat electrification demonstration at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery in Queensland. The project seeks to validate thermal energy storage as a method to replace fossil fuel-produced steam with low-cost electricity. ARENA is providing an initial $3.6 million for engineering and design, with the potential for up to $38 million for deployment and additional contingency support based on project results.

Entities

Australian Renewable Energy Agency · JET Charge · Yarwun alumina refinery · Darren Miller · Australia

Timeline

1 day ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 3 sources
ARENA funds industrial heat electrification at Rio Tinto refinery
ARENA is funding a large-scale industrial heat electrification project at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun refinery to test thermal energy storage as a decarbonization method.
6 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 4 sources
ARENA funds Australia’s largest commercial vehicle-to-grid trial
ARENA and JET Charge are launching a $5.35 million trial in Australia using 130 ACT Government electric vehicles to test large-scale commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology through 2029.

Sources

australianmanufacturing.com.au · blik.nl · communitynews.com.au · electricityinfo.org · esdnews.com.au · manmonthly.com.au · pv-magazine.com