ARENA boosts funding support for industrial decarbonisation

Funding program archive

This page preserves a dated funding-program record and links it to current project-planning guidance.

Publication date: 15 July 2025.

Current status checked 26 October 2026: ARENA lists the National Industrial Transformation (NIT) Program as closed to new applications; the July 2025 Industrial Transformation Stream Round 2 deadline described below has passed. This archive records the former announcement, not a current application invitation. Check ARENA's NIT page and the relevant current ARENA funding opportunity before planning a new submission.

What this article reported

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has opened a second round of its Powering the Regions Fund: Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) program, with $70 million in funding available to support industry to decarbonise.

Following the well subscribed $150 million first round, the second round is open until 15 July 2025 and is expanding its focus to support innovation and advancement in commercial deployment.

The expanded focus areas are:

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the second funding round is a natural progression for ARENA's Industrial Transformation Stream and aims to accelerate progress.

"Heavy industry accounts for approximately 44% of Australia's total emissions and 45% of our energy use. Decarbonising industry is critical in meeting Australia's short and long-term emissions reduction targets and reducing industrial environmental impact", said Mr Miller.

"The widened scope of round two highlights the need for innovation, impact and momentum in the industrial transformation space and seeks projects that will drive real, tangible and scalable benefits for industry."

Industrial decarbonisation at ARENA

ARENA was allocated the $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream as a 2023 budget measure under the $1.9 billion Powering the Regions Fund (PRF). The PRF forms part of Powering Australia, supporting Australia's ambition to become a renewable energy superpower and meet emission reduction targets of 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and net zero emissions by 2050.

ARENA is also administering the $40 million National Industrial Transformation (NIT) program that will support the reduction of scope 1 and scope 2 emissions at existing or planned industrial facilities across Australia. With the NIT program funds nearly exhausted, the program is expected to close in April 2025.

More information on the programs can be found on the ITS and NIT funding web pages.

ARENA media contact:

media@arena.gov.au

How to use this information now

Before relying on a grant, confirm the current round, applicant and project eligibility, eligible expenditure, co-contribution, assessment process, closing date and evidence obligations. Build the technical case so the project remains understandable with grant support shown separately.

Separate source-reported facts from forecasts, targets and commentary. For a current project, retain the official source, version, effective date, assumptions and decision record in the evidence file.

What is the Powering the Regions Fund: Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) and why does it matter for industrial decarbonisation?

This March 2025 source reported ARENA's $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream under the Powering the Regions Fund and its $70 million second round. That round's 15 July 2025 deadline has passed. Its former focus areas are historical context for industrial decarbonisation, not evidence of an open 2026 application. Check ARENA's current funding opportunities before including an ITS grant in a project case.

What were the two focus areas in the 2025 ITS second round?

The former Focus Area 1 sought first-of-a-kind technologies with substantial emissions-reduction potential. Focus Area 2 sought to advance commercially demonstrated solutions that had not yet reached broad deployment. These were the March 2025 announcement's categories, not current eligibility advice. A new industrial project should first find an open ARENA round and assess its own guidelines.

How can an industrial business prepare a project for a future funding opportunity?

Define the facility, emissions sources, proposed intervention, project stage, expected energy and emissions effects, capital needs and evidence quality. Gather energy and production data, operating schedules, prior studies and a measured baseline where relevant. Test technical and commercial merit separately from conditional funding. Then compare the project with an administrator's genuinely open round and current guidelines; the 2025 ITS Round 2 terms cannot be reused as a live application pathway.

Is the National Industrial Transformation Program still open to new applications?

No. ARENA's current National Industrial Transformation Program page says the $40 million opportunity is closed to new applications. The original March 2025 article expected an April 2025 close, so its instruction to move an application forward immediately is historical. The July 2025 ITS Round 2 deadline also passed. Check https://arena.gov.au/funding/ for any current opportunity before preparing a funding submission.

How does an industrial business distinguish between funding eligibility and project technical merit when preparing a funding application?

Funding eligibility requires meeting program criteria: facility location, emissions profile, project innovation level and evidence standards. Project merit requires establishing the operational business case: whether the investment solves a real problem, delivers reliable performance and generates acceptable returns independent of funding. Prepare the investment case with and without conditional funding support so decision-makers understand the standalone economics. We separate these in our delivery approach: energy assessment and feasibility work establish technical and financial merit, while funding-pathway assessment identifies which programs apply and what evidence each requires. This prevents pursuing an ineligible pathway for an otherwise sound project.

What measurement evidence should an industrial business prepare for a future open funding round?

Prepare facility-level energy and emissions data, operating and production conditions, a defined project boundary, credible baseline, proposed intervention, quantified outcomes, assumptions and delivery risks. The exact evidence and eligible costs depend on the current open round's guidelines. Early measurement planning supports both the standalone investment case and a later application, but the closed NIT program and 2025 ITS Round 2 cannot accept new submissions.

How should an industrial business coordinate project planning with current funding opportunities?

Maintain a funding register that distinguishes discovered, open, applied, approved and closed opportunities. The article's NIT and ITS deadlines were in 2025 and have passed; ARENA now lists NIT closed to new applications. Check the administrator's present funding list and rules before treating any grant as available. For each genuine opportunity, record eligibility, application and project timing, cost-sharing and environmental-attribute conditions, while keeping the project case viable without unconfirmed funding.

What role does transition planning play in preparing a competitive ITS funding application for industrial decarbonisation?

A transition plan can show how an organisation will reduce emissions across sites or technologies, including owners, sequence, capital, dependencies and measurable outcomes. That remains useful for deciding which projects deserve feasibility work. It may support a future funding application if the relevant open round asks for it, but the closed NIT program and historical ITS Round 2 cannot be used as a present application pathway.

How did the former ITS focus areas differ, and what should a project do now?

The 2025 announcement's Focus Area 1 addressed first-of-a-kind or demonstration-stage solutions; Focus Area 2 addressed technically demonstrated solutions whose commercial deployment still faced barriers. These categories explain the historical round only. A current industrial project should document its technology readiness and barriers, then test them against the focus and eligibility of a genuinely open ARENA opportunity.

What support can Northmore Gordon provide for an industrial project seeking future funding?

Northmore Gordon's stated services include energy audits, emissions inventories, feasibility and investment cases, transition planning, measurement and verification, and funding-pathway assessment. Those can prepare a project for a future open opportunity, subject to the programme's current rules. The NIT program is closed to new applications and the 2025 ITS Round 2 deadline has passed, so this historical page must not be used to invite an ITS or NIT submission.

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