Canberra Opens Grants for Hard-to-Abate Emissions Tech

Australia opens a second round of carbon capture grants worth A$32.6M, targeting cement, steel, and chemicals

29 Mar 2026

Australia is putting another A$32.6 million into the fight against its most stubborn industrial emissions. The federal government launched Round 2 of its Carbon Capture Technologies Program on March 24, offering grants between A$1 million and A$10 million to organizations piloting or demonstrating novel capture, utilization, and removal technologies. Applications close May 6.

The program already has a track record. Round 1 allocated A$65 million across seven projects in 2024, backing companies including Calix and MCi Carbon in developing processes that convert captured CO2 into commercial products like methanol and building materials. Airthena and Novalith, also Round 1 recipients, are pursuing direct air capture and battery-grade lithium carbonate production respectively. Round 2 extends that momentum, with a sharper focus on sectors where decarbonization remains genuinely hard.

Those sectors matter enormously. Cement, chemicals, and steel together account for roughly 20 percent of Australia's annual greenhouse gas emissions, and conventional clean energy solutions offer limited traction there. Hitting the country's legislated net-zero target by 2050 will require technological breakthroughs in these industries, not just cleaner grids.

Australia's existing commercial-scale carbon capture operations offer both proof of concept and a note of caution. The Chevron-operated Gorgon facility in Western Australia and Santos's Moomba project in South Australia have collectively stored more than 13 million tonnes of CO2. Yet independent analysis has flagged performance issues at some facilities, reinforcing the case for next-generation approaches rather than simple replication of what already exists.

The strategic picture extends well beyond individual grants. Canberra is positioning itself as a regional hub for carbon management, drawing on favorable geology, established energy infrastructure, and growing partnerships across the Asia-Pacific. Several large offshore CCS projects remain in development along northern and western Australia, with the potential to serve both domestic emitters and international buyers. The government has also committed A$3.4 billion over 35 years through its Resourcing Australia's Prosperity initiative to map geological storage capacity nationwide.

For startups and research institutions now preparing applications, the funding is a critical bridge, one that could finally close the gap between laboratory promise and commercial scale.