Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Talking about Aussie jobs, last night the irrepressible team from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency presented their extraordinary wares to parliamentarians. The real eye-opener for me was Ecoult, who are delivering the rebirth of the old-fashioned lead acid battery as a new funky 21st century energy storage solution. This is a great story of Australian science: a CSIRO project funded by ARENA and spun-off to the private sector. The lead plates are coated with carbon and 'eleven secret herbs and spices'. Together with the incorporation of a super-capacitor, this has created a hybrid that modifies the chemistry of the lead acid battery and radically enhances its capacity, making it a real long-life goer for electric vehicles and the storage of renewables. We also met the team at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, who are attracting huge foreign investment and want to roll out a big solar project in WA so that we do not have to spend WA's dollars on purchasing eastern states credits. Mr Barnett, please get on board. And even the WA utility Synergy was there with an energy storage pilot, showing how traditional utilities are now getting on board with this new frontier. The ARENA crew, under the inspired leadership of Greg Bourne, are doing this country a great service—and we all appreciated Minister Macfarlane's unequivocal support.