Western Australia has been busy this week with the state government unveiling grants as a means to become a sustainable “renewable energy powerhouse”, as Premier Roger Cook says.
The Western Australian Government is aiming to diversify the state’s economy via supporting the development of Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO) new low-emission iron ore processing pilot facility.
The project – a partnership between the mining behemoth and Calix (ASX:CXL) – will involve a demonstration plant located near Kwinana, south of Perth, designed to produce up to 30,000 tonnes per year of hydrogen direct reduced iron or hot briquetted iron, as previously reported.
Kwinana provides access to established utilities, ports, and other infrastructure, as well as access to the nearby NeoSmelt facility.
NeoSmelt has already received a $75 million investment from the state government and is also being supported by the Commonwealth Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Building local, cutting waste
As part of the Western Australian Government’s $50 million Local Battery Manufacturing Program, local battery manufacturers can access $30 million in grants to grow their capacity to provide competitive residential battery products.
Grants of up to $5 million will be offered, which must be matched dollar for dollar by the proponent.
This news comes after new data showed more than 4,500 household batteries have been installed through the state government’s Residential Battery Scheme. The scheme has received more than 18,000 applicants since opening on 1 July 2025.
Concurrently, the state government is backing community-led action to cut waste, protect the environment and build a more circular, low-waste future for Western Australia.
A total of 17 not-for-profits, local governments, businesses, and community groups will share $252,281 to deliver innovative programs that help make the landfill the last resort in the state.
Since 2017, the state government has provided more than $16 million in WasteSorted grants to support projects that recover and reuse priority materials such as plastics, textiles, and Food Organics and Garden Organics.
In addition, the Albanese and Cook governments are jointly investing in two new initiatives to enhance water security and climate resilience across regional and remote Western Australia.
The first initiative – a $2.7 million WaterSmart Wheatbelt Project – will explore the potential of using brackish paleochannels as emergency and long-term water sources for drought-prone agricultural regions.
WaterSmart aims to advance cost-effective aquifer exploration methodologies, building on the outcomes of Australia’s national science agency CSIRO’s brackish groundwater characterisation project.
Delivered by the Water Corporation in collaboration with the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the University of Western Australia, the second initiative will be a $486,000 investment in a trial of low-tech monitoring and treatment methods to improve drinking water quality in remote Aboriginal communities.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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