7 November 2024
Two tertiary providers based in the ACT, each with a unique national focus, are joining forces to prepare the workforce with the necessary knowledge and skills to enable the energy transition and smoothen the Capital’s pathway to net zero by 2045.
In a series of collaborative explorations, the ANU Centre for Energy Systems (ACES) and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) are combining their talents and coming up with best approaches to provide the Australian workforce with the skills needed now and into the future.
Central to the ACES/CIT discussions have been the development of over-the-horizon training to prepare frontline tradespeople, the community and other employees working in sectors critical to achieving net zero emissions, applied research opportunities for vocational education and training students, and a one-of-its-kind event to test the myriad of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) devices for interoperability and compliance.
With the influx of DER devices such as electric vehicles, solar panels, home batteries and home energy management system devices, there is much to be done to inform and prepare the trades workforce such as electricians and heavy and light vehicle mechanics who engage directly with households and businesses.
Associate Professor Kim Blackmore, who is leading discussions from ACES said: “We are enthusiastic about partnering with CIT to transform our research into valuable information concerning the energy transition and practical experiences of the system operations. This collaboration aims to empower the community and enable individuals to identify their roles and contribute as workers and active participants in the new energy system.”
Christine Robertson, Interim CEO at CIT said: it’s terrific to be working with the ANU team at ACES again. We’re exploring how we can best connect to bring industry, community, and the future workforce in training closer to experience an understanding of critical and emerging DER technologies. We look forward to working with ACES in ways that help drive informed adoption of energy transition technologies, create inclusive and rewarding careers, and meet future workforce needs.
ACES and CIT are no strangers to trailbazing pathways towards a cleaner society powered by renewable energy. Of particular relevance to this collaboration is the Centre’s Distributed Energy Resources Laboratory for applied research and student training activities. The DERlab was fundamental to the Realising Electric Vehicles-to-grid project enabling vehicle-to-grid testing via the lab’s bi-directional EV charger.
CIT is home to Australia’s only Electric Vehicle TAFE Centre of Excellence, a joint initiative between the Federal and the ACT Governments. With support from Tesla and other EV Original Equipment Manufacturers, CIT’s EV Centre of Excellence now produces Australia’s first graduates with qualifications in EV technology, Certificate III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology (Light Vehicle). In layman’s terms that’s qualified EV mechanics.
The collaboration has also seeded discussions including ‘train the trainers’ courses, developing course materials to assist tradespeople in understanding the National Electricity Market, vehicle-to-grid technology, software & hardware integration and best practice for new energy technologies drawing upon ACES cutting edge technical and social science research.
Of particular note is the creation of Australia’s first interoperability and compliance testing event, complete with a concurrent conference and exhibition. EnergyFusion will provide a meeting place for the testing of DER and gateway devices. To keep up-to-date with the latest information about EnergyFusion, please register your interest via our sign-up form here: DERlab sign-up form – Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program
Next steps include developing proposals for working with industry, in particular Distributed Network Service Providers, to further smoothen the pathway of DER integration with the grid.