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Austmine 2023

23 Mar 2023

WORKING IN THE IN-BETWEEN OF ELECTRIFICATION

Ampcontrol Stand: 532

The global energy crisis has hit, and the world is faced with the dilemma of how we solve it.

The NSW State Government is making moves to explore what energy in the future can look like. They announced an investment in clean manufacturing precinct projects launching both in the Hunter where Ampcontrol Head Office is based, and in the Illawarra.

The Next Five to 10 Years

There is talk around a future state. Hydrogen. Net Zero. Carbon Neutral. Carbon Free. All lofty and necessary aspirations, but what happens before we can get from here to there?

Rod Henderson, Ampcontrol Managing Director & CEO was a guest speaker at the inaugural Hunter Hydrogen & Energy Symposium, hosted by NewH2, 20 to 22 February 2023 in Newcastle, NSW.

“There is a world of opportunity in the next five to 10 years to fill the gaps. We cannot forget about the interim. There is work to be done in the in between,” says Rod.

The Hunter Region: Energy Manufacturing Powerhouse

At Ampcontrol, we are supporting the national energy and low carbon economy transition, positioning the Hunter Region as an energy manufacturing powerhouse.

We believe this will come out of collaboration from across the region. Ampcontrol thrives on collaboration. Within the Hunter, we’re involved with Hunter Innovation Foundation, HunterNet, Committee For The Hunter, Beyond Zero Emissions, Business NSW, Business Hunter, and NewH2 to name a few.

“There is so much potential and so much happening within the Hunter region in the renewable energy space. Some of our most innovative products within the renewable energy space have come about due to collaboration and partnership with other companies in the industry,” says Rod.

Beacon on the Hill

Within Ampcontrol, we refer to hydrogen as a ‘beacon on the hill’. It’s a future state, one we’re already making great in-roads into the development of commercial products to be applied across the industry.

“We believe very strongly as we get to that beacon in the hill of hydrogen, that new energy is what helps to get us there,” says Rod.

Beyond talking about it, Ampcontrol is well underway in the doing.

Already our dedicated people of Ampcontrol, alongside industry partnerships, have created solutions to these growing problems.

Solar Qube, a stand-alone power system (SAPS) created by Boundary Power, our joint-venture with West Australian utility Horizon Power, was born out of Horizon Power saying “there has to be a better way”.

Already we’ve deployed more than 60 units already installed, with more than 120km of powerlines removed. The market is ready for off-grid power suppliers to solve the growing energy crisis.

Steps to Electrification

In addition to stand-alone power systems, Ampcontrol has developed solutions for electrifying mine sites and reducing diesel emissions.

There’s the creation of DRITEX, a battery electric vehicle for use in underground mining applications, removing the use of diesel. Our battery, developed in partnership with Tritium, can be charged in only 10 minutes.

There are around 2000 underground diesel vehicles being using across Australia; what could the introduction of DRIFTEX mean for reducing diesel emissions?

We have teams of dedicated research and development engineers at ResTech, our joint venture with The University of Newcastle.

“How do we optimise existing infrastructure as we move to fully electrify mine sites?”

Ampcontrol is here to support our customers through this.

“One of the areas Ampcontrol identified as a need of the industry was assisting businesses with the next steps to get to the future state of electrified mining operations. When businesses think ‘I need energy’ to perform certain functions, the first instinct is often to acquire more energy. Our expertise at Ampcontrol is to help businesses use the materials they already have available, in a different way,” says Rod.

How Collaboration Gets Us There

We recognise the importance of partnerships and collaboration in developing technology solutions to enable a competitive advantage in a net-zero carbon environment.

“It is important to demonstrate we work alongside other businesses to contribute to the low carbon economy transition and to the responsible sourcing of prime materials to enable a competitive advantage in a net-zero carbon environment,” says Rod.

This means more manufacturing jobs kept within Australia, collaboration between Ampcontrol and other businesses within the industry who are all looking to achieve the same goal.

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