Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has launched vital new research infrastructure to support, accelerate and de-risk Australia’s complex energy transition.
CSIRO has launched the National Energy Analysis Centre (NEAC), which aims to support, accelerate and de-risk Australia’s complex energy transition.
NEAC is an independent, collaborative research centre delivering data-driven insights to support Australia’s journey to net zero.
It will combine real-world anonymised energy data from households and businesses with state-of-the-art energy system modelling, analysis and visualisation tools, equipping decision makers with a powerful toolkit to steer Australia’s energy transition with greater clarity and coordination.
CSIRO Energy Director, Dietmar Tourbier, said the new national infrastructure will help to accelerate and de-risk the energy transition.
“Transforming the energy system will impact every sector of the economy and every part of society,” Dr Tourbier said.
“A transition of this scale and complexity needs a coordinated, long-term perspective.
“NEAC will help Australia navigate this journey by providing the trusted insights planners and policymakers need to inform action and reduce risk.”
NEAC director, Stephen Craig, said that there are two main components of NEAC: a living lab that will provide ongoing access to rich energy user data, and a whole of energy system modelling framework.
According to Dr Craig, NEAC will consist of:
- A Living Lab of thousands of people in real homes and businesses across Australia, pre-recruited and ready to participate in research.
- A Systems Science Toolbox with rich, curated datasets in a coherent multi-energy systems framework, and powerful analytical models, workflow tools and spatiotemporal visualisations.
- Extensive innovation networks of NEAC users and collaborators
Federal Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon, said it’s fantastic to see NEAC taking shape in Newcastle, cementing the region’s role at the forefront of Australia’s clean energy transition.
“This centre is about ensuring we have the best data, modelling, and analysis to make smart, evidence-based decisions in our national energy transition,” she said.
“Newcastle has long powered the nation, and this new centre will help accelerate our transformation into a global hub for innovation, clean technology and advanced energy systems for generations to come.
“These are exactly the kind of projects that the Federal Government is proud to support – backing world-class science, regional capability, and a net-zero future.”
Researchers, network planners, government agencies and industry will be able to use the NEAC Living Lab to more deeply understand how Australian families and businesses use energy now and in the future, to develop effective infrastructure and programs at lowest cost to consumers.
Including a diverse range of households and businesses in the NEAC Living Lab will help develop effective energy infrastructure and programs that provide reliable, secure and affordable energy.
“We’ll be doing behavioural research asking about sentiment intentions, as well as tapping into that ongoing rich data source from homes and businesses,” Dr Craig said.
“With more of the energy system being in the hands of ordinary homes and businesses, this is becoming increasingly important. At the end of the day, we’re building a system to serve the needs of the of the community, so understanding how they’re using energy today and then want to use energy in future is really important for policy, planning and innovation.”
Dr Craig said that research and innovation are critical to a successful energy transition.
“This is really a fundamental change. Just a few years ago, more than 90 per cent of our domestic energy use came from fossil fuels, and more than a quarter of our export income came from fossil fuels – and to transition to something that isn’t foundationally based on [those resources] is a really big change,” he said.
“That’s why research and innovation is critical, because we don’t have all the answers up front [like we do with] a legacy system.
“We need to trial different options, build up an evidence base of what works and what doesn’t work, and [we need to see how things interact – because it’s not about individual technologies, it’s about how the pieces [and the people] come together.”
Dr Craig explained that NEAC’s other key aspect, the system science toolbox, offers a whole-of-energy system modelling framework.
“That’s where we can explore the trade-offs between different types of energy,” he said.
“For example, there are lot of industries that are very dependent on fossil fuels today, and [we can investigate different] options and pathways for those industries, by considering what they’re trying to produce, where they are in the country, and the technology readiness of different low carbon options.
“In some cases, we can electrify, and in other cases, it might be a low carbon fuel or a hydrogen derivative. And that’s what our system modelling framework can help with.”
CSIRO is inviting Australian residents 18 years old and over to sign up to the Living Lab.
Heath Raftery is a Living Lab participant and is anonymously sharing his circuit-level electricity use and indoor temperature and humidity data.
“I joined NEAC because I’ve been following the energy transition and see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Australia to look at the electricity grid with the consumer in mind. I’m a renter so there’s not much I can do infrastructure-wise, but having input via NEAC will help governments and providers to consider the third of the population that is renting, as they develop policies and products. I’m also hoping that the information I get about my family’s energy use habits can help us to reduce our bills”, Mr Raftery said.
The Living Lab is already supporting one multi-institution residential research project, while the Systems Science Toolbox is being used as part of a study into optimising energy within industrial hubs.
Dr Craig said NEAC is looking forward to scaling the Living Lab to a point that it feels is as representative as it can be of Australian society.
“It’s not just for the energy nerds that think it’s fantastic to get all the latest energy gadgets, we really want to capture the diversity of Australian homes and businesses to ensure that the future of energy system works for everyone – [one that’s] affordable, equitable, and sustainable,” he said.
“And we’d like to see research organisations, policy makers, and innovators using NEAC as a sort of national base to drive efficiency and maybe more consistency.
“It’s really exciting. We’ve been working on this concept for several years, and we recognise the opportunity for CSIRO through this new national research infrastructure to really support Australia’s energy transition
“The NEAC Living Lab, [means that] citizen scientists from around the country can be a part of NEAC and really support the energy transition going forward – both for themselves and for the whole community.”
Organisations interested in using NEAC are invited to attend a webinar on 11 August to find out more.
Register your interest to join the Living Lab (For any resident of Australia over 18 years old).
This research is supported by the Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF).
