According to The Australian Financial Review, mining giant Rio Tinto has struck a global deal with Ford Motor Company to develop and supply battery and low-carbon materials – such as aluminium, lithium, and copper – to be used in Ford vehicles including the next generation of lightweight, electric trucks.
The non-binding memorandum of understanding is just the start of the exploratory journey but nevertheless masks high ambitions as the transition to electric vehicles gathers pace in the major markets of North America, Europe and China.

https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/rio-tinto-signs-with-ford-for-carbon-free-aluminium-20220721-p5b3jc

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, record low vacancy rates and rising demand for warehouse space going into Christmas are expected to heap more pressure on industrial rents, after they accelerated at their fastest annual rate in more than three decades in the second quarter of this year.
New figures from JLL show prime industrial rents rose 6.22 per cent between April and June to be up 14.9 per cent on an annual basis.

https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/industrial-rental-growth-hits-33-year-high-as-christmas-pain-looms-20220721-p5b3dv

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, pathology giant Sonic Healthcare and artificial intelligence start-up Harrison.ai have launched a new venture to speed up the diagnosis and detection of cancer, and other tissue-based diseases.
Franklin.ai has been established as a joint venture between the companies following Sonic’s investment in Harrison.ai’s $129 million Series B funding round last year .

https://www.afr.com/companies/healthcare-and-fitness/how-sonic-healthcare-and-a-local-ai-start-up-will-shake-up-pathology-20220630-p5axx3

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Japanese bank Nomura’s new sustainable technology and infrastructure arm, dubbed Nomura Greentech, has been spotted in Australian deals for the first time, seeking to raise $500 million for a renewable energy group.
Nomura Greentech’s bankers are in the market for Energy Estate, an independent energy producer with a portfolio of energy projects across Australia, New Zealand and the United States and based in Sydney.
According to the document, Energy Estate has investments in projects with more than 34 gigawatts of production capacity, 8.7GW of long-term duration storage projects and 7.5GW of electrolysis projects.
 
https://www.afr.com/street-talk/nomura-s-green-arm-hunts-500m-for-energy-estate-s-renewables-20220718-p5b2h2

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia has the potential to be “the new Saudi Arabia” of green energy and minerals, says Patrick Lammers, chief operating officer of E.ON, the huge European utility that hopes to start importing green hydrogen from Fortescue Future Industries as early as 2025.
Mr Lammers said “I made a bit of a joke, but I think it actually has something in it. You know, Australia could be the new Saudi Arabia, but then not only having the energy exports, you also export the new minerals in a very green way. This makes you the front-runner, and you could be the richest country in the world.”

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/australia-could-be-saudi-arabia-of-green-energy-e-on-20220721-p5b3hd

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australian LNG exports have broken fresh records in volumes and value amid super-keen demand for non-Russian gas, with Japan overtaking lockdown-hit China to regain the No.1 ranking as the biggest customer.
Shipments were the highest in June on a monthly basis, and exports also hit a record for the 2022 financial year, reaching 82.6 million tonnes, according to consultancy EnergyQuest.
It estimated export revenue for the year at $70.18 billion, easily more than double the $30.48 billion recorded in FY 2021.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/lng-exports-hit-70b-record-despite-china-slide-20220714-p5b1om

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Mitsubishi’s inking of a long-discussed “trophy” deal with Lendlease to take a two-thirds stake in the $3 billion One Circular Quay project follows the resumption of high-level business travel between the two countries and other transactions frozen by pandemic restrictions will follow.
Construction – by Lendlease – is due to start “immediately” on the project comprising a 59-level luxury residential tower designed by the late Australian architect Kerry Hill, and a second tower developed as a 220-room luxury hotel designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates.
The completion would be in financial year 2027, the company said.

https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/lendlease-mitsubishi-estate-buy-one-circular-quay-for-800-million-20220714-p5b1kl

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Queensland will install renewable energy components at coal-fired power plants, but the state government is ambiguous about plans for using fossil fuel electricity generation.
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said adding battery storage and hydrogen production facilities to power plant sites would be in the government’s 10-year energy plan, due to be released this year.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/qld-to-install-batteries-at-coal-plants-20220713-p5b1dp

 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, a state-of-the-art coal-fired power plant that will soon go online in the seaside town of Taketoyo in Aichi Prefecture is expected to help alleviate Japan’s electricity supply shortage.
But the move to power up such a major carbon emitter as other major industrialized countries push toward decarbonization has been criticized as a step in the wrong direction.
The new unit boasts the highest level of electricity-generating capacity among thermal power stations in Japan, with a maximum output of 1.07 gigawatts, which is almost the same as that of a nuclear power reactor.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14670874

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia will need 1.2 million more workers within four years, including more than 98,600 technology specialists, 20,400 solicitors and 7700 auditors, ramping up pressure on employers to offer bigger salaries and more promotions.
The jobless rate this week dropped to 3.5 per cent, a low not reached in Australia since 1976. Detailed projections by the federal government’s skills forecaster, the National Skills Commission, indicate the workforce will expand by more than 9 per cent by the end of 2026.

https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/australia-needs-an-extra-1-2-million-workers-in-the-next-four-years-20220714-p5b1qp