The Queensland government has updated its ten-year Advanced Manufacturing Roadmap to take into account the state’s ambitious renewable energy targets.
Queensland Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing Glenn Butcher said the updated plan – which comes at the mid-point of the ten-year plan – was important given the changing global landscape.
But mainly the re-write was prompted by the vastly altered energy inputs to the state’s manufacturing sector that were outlined in its Queensland’s Energy and Jobs Plan, which states that 70 per cent the state’s energy to come from renewables by 2032, and 80 per cent by 2035.
“We’re talking about 100,000 new industrial jobs in hydrogen, renewables, manufacturing and critical minerals,” Mr Butcher said.
“Our updated and revised Roadmap now outlines how businesses can work to be a part of Queensland’s clean energy revolution, as well as the decarbonisation of our manufacturing sector,” he said.
“Manufacturing contributes more than $20 billion a year to the Queensland economy. It’s crucial we support this sector and give our competitive, world-leading manufacturers every opportunity to thrive and grow.
The plan aims both to help local manufacturers retool for the renewables energy mix, but also to take advantage of the massive investment the state will make in transforming the Queensland energy sector to meet its renewables targets.
Mr Butcher says the new roadmap also sets out plans to assist Queensland manufacturers in taking advantage of the huge capital projects supporting the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
“The recently released Queensland Energy & Jobs Plan sets out a path to transform the power system by 2035 that will require more than $62 billion of estimated capital projects that will deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy across the state,” Mr Butcher said.
“This commitment will bring significant opportunities for Queensland manufacturers and we will work closely with industry to position them to supply critical components for renewable energy projects locally, nationally and internationally,” he said.
“Together with industry, we will continue to deliver tailored services and grant programs that will support Queensland manufacturers on the journey to advanced manufacturing.”
The new roadmap sets out strategies across five areas:
- Driving advanced manufacturing in Queensland
- Supporting manufacturers to grow in a carbon neutral future
- Supporting manufacturers to take advantage of large scale and emerging industry and procurement opportunities
- Increasing the participation of women in manufacturing
- Marketing Queensland manufacturing
The state’s Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen minister Mick de Brenni said the Queensland energy transition was “the greatest opportunity in a generation” to create good jobs in new regional industries – and to underwrite the return of manufacturing to the regions.
“To transform our energy system, we’re going to need thousands of batteries, wind towers and blades, solar panels and kilometres of transmission lines, Mr de Brenni said.
“We want to seize and de-risk this opportunity by manufacturing as much Queensland-made renewable energy equipment as possible,” he said.
“And by applying our Buy Queensland procurement approach through our publicly-owned energy companies, we can increase demand for components that have traditionally been wholly imported and drive an industrial scale manufacturing revolution.”
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