December 8, 2025
An audience of almost 50 people who attended the Society’s 1337th Ordinary General Meeting at the State Library of NSW on 3 December 2025 enjoyed a highly-informative and technically accessible presentation from Dr Donald Hector, Principal of Grassick SSG Pty Ltd and a former President of the Royal Society of NSW, on the intent and challenges in the Government’s decade plan for ‘A Future Made in Australia‘.
In his presentation, Dr Hector outlined the government policy to invest $23 billion over ten years to position the country as a renewable energy superpower, focusing on green minerals, metals, innovation, and workforce development. The strategy is split into two streams: the net zero transformation (emphasising renewable hydrogen and green metals) and economic security (reducing reliance on imported critical minerals and boosting clean manufacturing). Transitioning from coal to renewable energy sources will involve gas as an interim step, with hydrogen playing a central role, though its production is energy-intensive and costly.
His talk emphasised the importance of comparing technology costs using the levelised cost of energy, highlighting solar PV’s declining costs versus nuclear’s high capital requirements. Renewable energy’s intermittency necessitates advanced storage solutions, such as batteries and hydro, to stabilise the grid. Critical minerals are vital for enabling technologies but raise environmental and supply chain concerns, especially given China’s market dominance. Hydrogen production methods, their challenges, and the complexities of handling hydrogen were explored, as were the production of green steel and aluminium, noting the technical and economic hurdles.
In summing up his talk, Dr Hector called for the re-industrialisation of Australia, increased research funding, and integrated industrial and national security policies to increase Australia’s economic complexity and ensure resilience.
A video recording of the presentation and Q&A session is now available on the Society’s YouTube channel, while a collection of images from the occasion is also available for viewing and downloading.
