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Latest Episode
Forrest family leads Rich List plunge on packaging disrupter
Andrew and Nicola Forrest have led a star-studded fundraising for the start-up that hopes to replace polystyrene with a more sustainable insulation material.
- Peter Ker
This man is using ‘pixie dust’ to solve green hydrogen’s big problem
Professor Greg Metha and Fortescue might have a solution to Saul Griffith’s fear that Australia will waste time, money and renewable power making green hydrogen.
- Updated
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
November 2022
How we can keep burning (clean) coal for 100 years
The man behind a low carbon gas-fired power station says he is certain it can be adapted to run on Australian coal and will mean coal can be burned for “hundreds of years”.
- Updated
- Peter Ker
Why Queensland sugar cane can be the ‘Exxon of biofuels’
The way it is farmed and processed could make it a more viable source of low-carbon aviation power than other crops such as corn.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
October 2022
The Aussie tech leading the world on electric planes
When the largest all-electric plane to fly took off in the US last month, an Australian-designed propulsion system was the wind beneath its wings.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
Fixing craft beer’s dirty little secret
Is the explosion of small breweries in Australia making climate change worse? John Seltin is one artisan trying to ensure his only CO2 emissions are the bubble in his drinks.
The plan to fix craft brewing’s dirty little secret
Jon Seltin reckons climate change is already changing the taste of beer, and amid a craft brewing boom he’s determined not to add to the problem.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
BHP and the shipping industry rediscover the power of wind
Centuries after colonial powers sailed the seven seas on nothing but wind, big corporates like BHP are pushing a wind renaissance through the shipping industry.
- Updated
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
Malcolm Turnbull joins Cannon-Brookes with stake in solar disrupter
The former prime minister says SunDrive’s technological breakthrough in solar cell manufacturing could be a “game changer”.
- Peter Ker
Americans bring direct air capture technology in from the ‘crazies’
Direct air capture start-ups are bracing for a wave of fresh investment after the United States Inflation Reduction Act included the emerging technology in its wide-ranging decarbonisation bill.
- Jessica Sier and Colin Packham
Dropping out of uni was the best thing this solar pioneer ever did
Vince Allen’s disruptive solar cell has broken world records and won investment from billionaires including Mike Cannon-Brookes. Now he’s determined to mass produce in Australia.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
Elon Musk-backed start-up opens door to the smallest investors
The Australian carbon capture aspirant funded by Elon Musk’s private foundation will seek its next cash injection from ordinary punters via the Birchal crowdfunding platform.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
How Elon Musk’s cash helped these Aussies suck carbon out of the air
Convincing investors to back embryonic green industries like ‘direct air capture’ is hard, which makes grants from the likes of Elon Musk all the more welcome.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
September 2022
The Aussie who can make the sun shine after dark
John Lasich started concentrating solar power in his backyard in 1975. Now AGL, Chevron and Norway’s Equinor reckon he can deliver it after dark.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
July 2022
His company is up 800pc, but this scientist doesn’t care
This week’s Tech Zero podcast was almost finished recording when this millionaire scientist revealed a carbon-killing idea his boss wasn’t yet comfortable with.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
The ‘mad scientist’ who could turn Australia’s iron ore green
Calix shares have gone up 800 per cent in two years and founder Mark Sceats has now invented a kiln that he reckons will solve Australia’s iron ore emissions problems and deliver green iron.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
This CEO made $250m in lithium. Here’s where he’s investing next
Neometals CEO Chris Reed made just under $250 million from a $2 million dollar investment in lithium mining. Now he’s betting on an even bigger opportunity.
- Updated
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
Why the real money is in lithium recycling, not mining
Neometals CEO Chris Reed made just under $250 million from a $2 million dollar investment in lithium mining. Now he’s betting on an even bigger opportunity.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
June 2022
This surprising item is feeding power into SA’s grid
In a sleepy corner of South Australia, waste oat husks are being used to generate dispatchable, carbon-neutral power.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
Tech Zero episode 4: How to use food scraps for energy
A tiny South Australian town that was the birthplace of Bob Hawke is converting oat husks into energy, and biogas could provide up to 9 per cent of Australia’s energy needs.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
How ‘green gas’ could soothe the energy crisis
A huge gas resource equal to 5 per cent of domestic consumption could be delivered by 2025 if the government adopts a target for turning organic waste into biogas.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
- Exclusive
- Carbon challenge
Carbon credits for mine wastes on the agenda as BHP plots big sink
The Clean Energy Regulator is considering making mine wastes eligible for carbon credits as BHP says one dam could offset its iron ore and nickel mines
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
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