Driving business by getting in front of new connections is vitally important for today’s small- to medium-sized businesses. In this episode, we speak to some of Australia’s innovators about the difficulties they have faced when trying to forge these connections, and the opportunities that can present themselves through a mutual desire for collaboration.

From the official launch of NERA’s GeneratER open innovation challenge program in June 2021, we hear Tim McCarthy from Chevron Australia’s announcement of the first three GeneratER challenges provided by Chevron, and Dave Sharp from EcoQuip’s business growth story and the lessons he learned along the way.

From the exhibition floor at the APPEA 2021 conference, we hear from two hydrogen innovators who joined us at the NERA Hydrogen Technology Zone — Matthew Hingerty from Star Scientific, and Mark Rheinlander from Carbon280 — and share their insights into the challenges of bringing new technology into an emerging industry, and the value of having the opportunity to showcase their talent and capability to potential clients at conferences such as APPEA. 

Finally, we hear from then GM Decommissioning Andrew Taylor, who shares how the National Decommissioning Research Initiative (NDRI) and the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA), both underpinned by collaboration, deliver independent information to support key decommissioning decisions for the future. We also hear a snippet from the grandly titled ‘Godfather of Decommissioning’, Dr Milton Love, who provided the keynote presentation at the NDRI Science Symposium held in June 2021.

This episode of the Energy Innovators Podcast was recorded live from the NERA Energy Hub at AOG Energy 2021 in Perth. Face-to-face interactions are crucial in any sector, so it was great to have the opportunity to attend the expo amidst the ongoing global pandemic. 

In this episode we hear from Andrew Taylor, NERA’s General Manager for Decommissioning, on the launch of the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) and the aims and objectives for the Centre. We also speak with NERA CEO Miranda Taylor about the recent launch of the Australian hydrogen technology cluster network and how the clusters are bringing together the Australian hydrogen technology sector to share knowledge, skills and insights. 

Following on from our previous podcast on future skills, we also hear from Brian Haggerty, 2021 Engineers Australia WA Division President, and a number of young engineers on the value of attending conferences such as AOG Energy, and the importance of exposing future workforce members to a diversity of opportunities.

For more information you can visit the NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) website, which also holds all previous episodes of the Energy Innovators Podcast.

In this episode, we look at how the energy resources sector of the future compares to today and indeed the past in terms of the required skills and training and entry routes into the workplace. 

We speak with EDG’s Dave and Harry Nesbit on how they are working to train the next generation of designers and engineers, plus the challenges they are facing to ensure a continuing domestic pipeline of skilled design personnel.

We also speak with Lina Velosa from the Australian robotics company Nexxis about how their training arm Lab61 introduces school-age students to robotics and offers training to everyone from school pupils to existing members of the workforce.

For more information, you can visit the NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) website, which also holds all previous episodes of the Energy Innovators Podcast.

In this episode we talk with Pam Melroy, former NASA shuttle commander, now Director with Nova Systems and AROSE, about the opportunities to leverage Australia’s capabilities in remote operations and the growing Australian space industry.

We also discuss the formation of AROSE, which has been established as a not-for-profit organisation to support the overall growth of the industry across Australia and help to coordinate its activities.

You can find Pam on LinkedIn here.

Visit the AROSE website here.

You can find out more about NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) here.

The Energy Innovators Podcast website is located here.

Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel AO breaks down the obstacles and identifies the opportunities for Australia to build a hydrogen economy and transition to a low emissions energy future.

In this episode, NERA CEO Miranda Taylor talks with Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel AO about how the world’s transition to a low emissions energy future is already leading to an increase in global demand for hydrogen, and this is likely to increase substantially over coming decades, and how Australia is remarkably well positioned to benefit from this growth through hydrogen technologies, industries and markets.

As Chair of the national Hydrogen Working Group, Dr Finkel AO breaks down the obstacles that will need to be overcome for hydrogen to become competitive at scale, and identifies realistic timeframes for Australia to build a hydrogen economy based on three key opportunities: hydrogen for export; hydrogen for the domestic economy, including transport, heating and industrial processes; and hydrogen for energy storage, flexibility and resilience. 

With Australia well positioned to support the development of a clean, innovative and competitive hydrogen industry, our nation is a prime contender to be a leading global supplier of not just hydrogen but the knowledge and technologies that support it,  which could result in, for example, an export industry worth $1.7 billion by 2030 and provide 2,800 jobs, with many of these jobs being in regional areas, and with spin off opportunities across the energy, resources, manufacturing, services, transport and education sectors.  (Source ACIL Allen Report for ARENA, Opportunities for Australia from Hydrogen Exports).

You can find out more about NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) here.

The Energy Innovators Podcast website is located here.

In this episode NERA CEO Miranda Taylor talks with Matthew Warren, the author of the recently released book Blackout, which is about how energy-rich Australia is running out of electricity.

In their discussion they cover the history of Australia’s energy and electricity systems, the ways in which the electricity network has grown and how some of the recent changes to the network are leading to instability and the blackouts that form the title of the book.

You can find Matthew on LinkedIn here.

Matthew’s book Blackout: how is energy-rich Australia running out of electricity? is published by Affirm Press and can be purchased at most book retailers.

You can find out more about NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) here.

The Energy Innovators Podcast website is located here.

In this episode we talk with Dr Liz Dallimore, the director of the recently established Western Australian Data Science Innovation Hub. The hub was established to coordinate data science initiatives and activities across the broader Western Australian economy.

In the discussion, we talked about Liz’s background and how she came to be appointed as the director of the hub, the role of the hub, the role of data science and the opportunities for both the application of data science and the career opportunities that are emerging in the field.

Liz is on LinkedIn here.

The Western Australian data science innovation hub website is here.

You can find out more about NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) here.

The Energy Innovators Podcast website is located here.

In this episode NERA connects with Professor Mariano Ianuzzi, the director of the Curtin Corrosion Centre and Chevron and Woodside Chair in corrosion.

We discuss the forms corrosion take and the challenges it presents to all industries, along with the centre’s work undertaking industry-led research into the prevention and management of corrosion.

Mariano is on LinkedIn here.

The Curtin Corrosion Centre website is here.

You can find out more about NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) here.

The Energy Innovators Podcast website is located here.

In this episode we talk with Tania Walter, Founder and CEO of Obzervr, a company helping their clients across the oil and gas, mining and a number of other fields to manage and leverage the data available from their operations, delivering productivity and performance gains to their businesses.

In the discussion we talked about Tania’s background as an entrepreneur, why she established Obzervr, how they work with their clients by using their operational data to improve the efficiency of their businesses.

Tania is on LinkedIn here.

Obzervr’s website is here.

You can find out more about NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) here.

The Energy Innovators Podcast website is located here.

In this episode NERA CEO Miranda Taylor talks with Professor Peta Ashworth of the University of Queensland about her recently completed initial research into energy literacy. Peta is highly regarded for her expertise in the energy field and for her communication and stakeholder engagement. She has been researching public attitudes to climate and energy technologies for the past ten years.

Peta’s report into energy literacy — Building Australia’s Energy Literacy — firstly attempts to develop a definition of what energy literacy really is, and how the term is perceived in the community. Following the release of the report, Peta is aiming to hold a workshop to which interested parties from across Australia will be invited to discuss the report and determine next steps.

You can find out more about Peta and her work here.

The Building Australia’s Energy Literacy report can be accessed here.

More information on NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) can be found here.

The Energy Innovators Podcast website can be found here.