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SA CIRCULAR ECONOMY MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE |
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The Circular Economy Market Development Grants are now open now for Expressions of Interest for projects targeting one or more priority waste materials including plastics, paper and cardboard, glass, scrap metals, textiles, e-waste and tyres.
Grants up to $100,000 (GST exclusive) per applicant are available. Local councils, not-for-profit organisations, research institutes, and businesses that produce, manufacture, sell or promote South Australian recycled materials and recycled-content products can apply.
All applicants must complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) application due 30 June 2021. Visit the Green Industries SA website below for more information and to download the EOI Application and Grant Guidelines.
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AGL ANNOUNCES SUPPLIERS FOR GRID-SCALE BATTERY PLANS |
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AGL has announced that energy storage technology companies, Wärtsilä and Fluence have been secured under non-exclusive framework agreements to supply up to 1000MW of grid-scale battery storage.
AGL COO, Markus Brokhof said Wärtsilä and Fluence were chosen through a competitive tender process for their capability, experience and pricing as well as their alignment with AGL’s values and strategic objectives.
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THERE’S MORE TO THESE NANO-POWDERS THAN MEETS THE EYE |
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VSPC Ltd, a subsidiary of Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) has been awarded a European patent for the production of complex, mixed metal oxide nano-powders. So, what are they for? Lithium-ion batteries, of course, but also some other very useful things, like supercapacitors, catalysts, superconductors and more.
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USED LEAD ACID BATTERY (ULAB) RECYCLING FACILITY - HAZELWOOD NORTH, VICTORIA |
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Chunxing Corporation welcomes the Victorian Government’s identification of the proposed Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling facility through the Development Facilitation Program.
Chunxing Corporation acknowledges the importance of the building and construction sector to revitalise the regional and Victorian economy.
The ULAB recycling facility will deliver important resource recovery infrastructure contributing to the implementation of the Victoria’s Recycling Infrastructure Plan.
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REMANUFACTURE NSW GRANT PROGRAM ROUND 1 NOW OPEN |
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A $35 million grant program, Remanufacture NSW Round 1, has opened for applications. The program supports NSW resource recovery infrastructure development and trials to respond to the regulation of the export of glass, plastic, tyres and paper and cardboard under the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020.
The program offers funding in two streams.
- Stream 1 – Infrastructure projects (Grants of between $100,000 and $5 million are available for Stream 1)
- Stream 2 – Trials (Grants of between $50,000 and $1 million are available for Stream 2)
Applications close at 3 pm, Friday 26 March 2021.
Remanufacture NSW is jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund and the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative and is delivered by the NSW Environmental Trust in partnership with the NSW EPA.
To find out more about the program and how to apply, click on the link below.
A webinar will be held on Thursday 4 February 2021 from 10 am to 11 am. The webinar will provide more information about the program and provide opportunities for questions. Click below to register to attend the information session.
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CIRCULATE, NSW INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY PROGRAM |
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The Circulate Industrial Ecology Program is designed to fund innovative, commercially oriented industrial ecology projects. Circulate supports projects that will recover materials that would otherwise be sent to landfill, and to instead use them as feedstock for other commercial, industrial or construction processes. Part of the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More Initiative, Circulate has contributed $5.6 million of funding across 39 projects since 2013.
Amounts: Total of $2.5 million in grants; individual grants from $20,000 up to $150,000
Eligible bodies: Business, not-for-profit organisations, government agencies and organisations, industry bodies, product stewardship groups
Applications close at 5pm on Friday 12 February 2021.
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RECYCLING VICTORIA INNOVATION FUND |
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The Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund (Innovation Fund) supports innovative circular economy opportunities for businesses in Victoria.
These opportunities are aligned to the principles of:
- designing out waste
- maintaining product and material value over a longer period of time.
There are two streams within the Innovation Fund:
- Stream 1: Food Innovation
- Stream 2 : Collaborative Innovation
Total funding available is $75,000 to $450,000 with a $1:$1 (minimum) co-contribution which can be made up of cash or in-kind.
Applications close Monday 15 February 2021.
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RECYCLING VICTORIA BUSINESS SUPPORT FUND |
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The Recycling Victoria Business Support Fund will primarily target waste prevention, reuse, remanufacture and upcycling. Innovative recycling approaches will also be supported, where they develop new recycling markets in Victoria.
There are 2 grant types:
- Stream 1: Identification grants – For individual applicants or collaborative partnerships to investigate how to adapt and apply circular economy business opportunities and approaches.
- Stream 2: Implementation grants – For individual applicants or collaborative partnerships to implement solutions across one or multiple businesses. These grants will support the business to implement evidence-based circular economy business opportunities and approaches in Victoria.
Stream 1 applicants may apply for Stream 2 as well, in the first round or subsequent round (s).
Applications for both Stream 1 and 2 close Friday 12 March 2021. To find out more about funding and eligibility click below.
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HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT BECOMING AN ABRI MEMBER? |
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ABRI members are actively involved at the forefront of developments in industry and government to address the rapid expansion in the market and ensure that solutions to battery stewardship are practical and far reaching. Together, we influence policy, participate in research, facilitate trials and develop best practices to ensure that battery handling and recovery options are safe, efficient and business friendly. Our members represent the entire supply chain – importers, retailers, energy providers, recyclers, as well as government and research. We rely on member support to provide the latest information, events, best practices and industry trends. If your organisation finds these activities relevant, now is a good time to become involved.
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THE BATTERIES THAT COULD MAKE FOSSIL FUELS OBSOLETE |
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The advent of “big battery” technology addresses a key challenge for green energy – the intermittency of wind and solar.
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RELECTRIFY GETS THE MOST OUT OF SECOND-LIFE BATTERY SYSTEMS |
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After a year of functional and lifetime testing, Relectrify has released interim results of the company’s pilot system that combines repurposed batteries from Nissan Leaf vehicles with Relectrify’s BMS+Inverter technology.
The pilot, done in collaboration with utility American Electric Power (AEP) and Nissan North America, combines second-life batteries equivalent to 4.5 electric vehicles with cell-level battery management systems (BMS) to provide a high-efficiency AC output without requiring an inverter.
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SHIFT TO MORE DRY CELL BATTERIES POSES RECYCLING CHALLENGES |
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There’s a battery technology shift happening globally: a move away from wet cells (for example lead acid batteries for vehicles and industrial applications) to dry cells (mainly lithium-ion and alkaline batteries typically used in toys, remote controls, and other consumer products). What’s behind this market trend is the technology’s power and performance, which is driving its incorporation into fuel-saving, start-stop vehicles and a few other products.
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BASEL PLASTIC RULES CAUSE IMMEDIATE E-PLASTICS STRIFE |
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Recent changes to global regulations on scrap plastic shipments have shaken up the export market for plastics recovered from electronics.
The Basel Convention this month began regulating the global trade of a handful of types of scrap plastic, including a great deal of e-plastics. During a Jan. 12 event hosted by the Basel Action Network (BAN), experts described market chaos as governments around the world implement the new Basel regulations into their national laws.
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WASTECARE INVESTS IN UK BATTERY RECYCLING HUB |
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Waste manager WasteCare has started operations at the UK’s first full-scale household battery recycling facility following approval from the Environment Agency regulator.
The EUR 2.2 million facility in Elland, West Yorkshire can handle 25 000 tonnes of household batteries per year. The site is fully automated and will process mixed consumer batteries from collection points across England, Scotland and Wales.
This means it can recycle 100% of the UK’s spent alkaline and zinc carbon batteries, allowing them to be treated domestically rather than being exported. WasteCare estimates that alkaline and zinc carbon batteries account for approximately 80% of those sold in the UK.
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