MGA Thermal turbocharges WA’s green energy transition

MGA Thermal and knode join forces to create a clear and actionable clean energy roadmap for Australia’s largest state.

Australian clean energy company, MGA Thermal, has today announced its partnership with Western Australian-based energy company, knode, to create a clear and actionable pathway to enable the state to become a leader in green energy. Home to a vast expanse of natural assets and a world-class industrial ecosystem, Western Australia is a global energy hub. Heat energy in industry is responsible for more than 50% of the world’s energy use. It is an essential component of manufacturing, including refining raw materials, smelting metals and producing chemicals.

Net-zero and the industrial sector aren’t mutually exclusive, and creating a decarbonised economy requires new ways of working. There’s no doubt that the industrial sector is a critical component of driving a decarbonised economy, but we need green infrastructure innovation to drive this opportunity and transform how energy is generated and used. Western Australia’s government has committed to closing its state’s last coal-fired power plant by 2029 as we race towards net-zero. Yet, new data released by the Clean Energy Regulator reveals that of all the renewable energy capacity deemed either ‘committed’ or ‘probable’, only 5% was in Western Australia. “Western Australia has the opportunity to be one of the world’s clean energy leaders and pioneer the nation’s decarbonisation. But, what’s needed is the green energy infrastructure to either use clean steam in industry or continuously power the electricity grid — ultimately making 24/7 renewable energy a reality,” says Mark Croudace, Deputy CEO and CCO at MGA Thermal.

As a part of a group of companies that is leading decarbonisation in heavy industry, knode is acutely aware of the opportunities for the state’s natural resources industry to create a closed loop for green energy utilising MGA Thermal.

“Partnering with knode will be the connecting fibre between MGA Thermal and future customers, helping us to scale impact and ultimately tackle the energy crisis that exists in harder-to-abate industries. MGA Thermal can store huge amounts of renewable energy to enable the actualisation of net-zero targets and achieve 24/7 renewable energy. We’re thrilled to have a local Western Australian partner on the ground to take local organisations on the journey to decarbonisation,” adds Croudace.

The company’s purpose-designed Miscibility Gaps Alloy (MGA) blocks work by absorbing and storing thermal energy made from renewably generated electricity, surplus energy from the grid or from industrial waste heat. This can then create steam to run turbines or direct heat for use in industries like mineral processing, manufacturing and agribusiness. “MGA Thermal’s unique technology has enormous potential to support the uptake of clean energy in both Western Australia and across the globe. The energy transition for our state’s heavy industry to clean energy is a huge challenge and one that requires us to rethink the way we capture and store energy. The adoption of MGA Thermal’s storage technology will be vital in plugging this gap — enabling reliable, long-term energy storage across solar, wind, hydrogen and retrofitted thermal power plants,” explains Chris Nelson, CEO of knode.

With current customer interest of 40GWh, the equivalent of powering 2.6 million homes, MGA Thermal’s solution can repurpose coal-fired and power plants with thermal storage to deliver clean base load power, while also helping to prevent job loss from power plant closures.

mgathermal.com