Engie

Monash University and global energy company ENGIE have committed to a long-term alliance until 2030, following two years of collaboration to advance Monash’s UN award-winning Net Zero Initiative.

The Monash ENGIE Alliance will explore opportunities to co-develop scalable zero-carbon solutions.

The partnership has developed a detailed Net Zero Transformation Roadmap for the Clayton campus focusing on four key elements that will collectively allow the University to reach its target including;

• Optimising our on and off-site supply of renewable energy generation
• Upgrading existing buildings for energy efficiency and developing all-electric District Heating and Cooling (DHC) Systems.

The partnership will also demonstrate what an integrated net zero precinct looks like in Australia and is a chance to co-develop solutions of the future with Monash, a leading organisation both in the research and education of the net zero ambition.

A core element of the Alliance is the Net Zero Solutions Fund to which Monash and ENGIE will contribute in order to develop new solutions to help precincts and cities achieve net zero.

The intent of the Solutions Fund is to tackle the range of technological, economic, policy and social barriers to achieving net zero emissions at the city scale and by doing so, accelerate the global energy transition.

Net Zero Precinct ARC Linkage project led by the Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) in collaboration with Monash Art, Design and Architecture, the Faculty of Information Technology, the Faculty of Arts and ENGIE Research. The project will help cities and urban regions reach net zero emissions by using design anthropology to engage with the precinct community. This new approach to transition management will be tested over the next four years through three ‘Living Lab’ experiments across energy, mobility and buildings in the Monash Technology Precinct.

Local Councils

Monash is using its microgrid, smart energy, storage and commercial expertise to help six communities in Victoria.

Working to identify two communities from the Surf Coast, Yarra Ranges and Wodonga local government areas (LGAs), they will develop a business case for microgrids by demonstrating how they can reduce emissions, improve energy reliability and reduce energy costs.

Each microgrid will aim to virtually connect one business and approximately 20 homes into a microgrid including local renewable generation and energy storage. The study will capture and analyse data to help develop attractive and replicable investment opportunities.

This project is being delivered in collaboration with Birdwood Energy and is funded as part of Monash University's ‘Active Energy Precincts: Building Stronger Regional Communities Project’ which has received $1.934 million from the Federal Government's Regional and Remote Microgrid Reliability Fund.

ClimateWorks

ClimateWorks Australia is an expert, independent adviser, acting as a bridge between research and action to enable new approaches and solutions, accelerating Australia’s transition to net zero emissions by 2050.

The initial Net Zero strategy was developed in collaboration with ClimateWorks and based on their deep decarbonisation pathways framework. We have also developed the Smart Energy City Introductory Report and the Net Zero mobility strategy in collaboration with ClimateWorks.