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2025 dates confirmed! We are back in Sydney on 26-27 August 2025 and hope to see you there. Stay tuned - more details will be released very soon.
Sponsors and exhibitors for our 2025 conference
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Join us in 2025 as a sponsor or exhibitor!
97% of surveyed attendees rated the 2024 conference as 'very valuable or 'extremely valuable'.
This year we are expecting 300 attendees, again with a high number of end users. With an expanded exhibition space in our new venue in the Sydney CBD, we have more options for you to reach the the industry leaders driving the transition to renewable heat. We are now taking sponsorship and exhibitor bookings to be quick to book your preferred package.
Click here to download the ARHC2025 Prospectus.
In the meantime, check out below what we got up to in 2024.
Many thanks to our 2024 conference sponsors:
NETWORKING DRINKS SPONSOR
COFFEE CART SPONSOR
SESSION SPONSOR
2024 conference exhibitors
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Event partners:
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Why we must accelerate the transition to renewable heat
In Australia, half of industrial end-use energy consumption is for the provision of heat and virtually all is supplied by fossil fuels.
With net zero targets looming, equipment end-of-life spans and with the pressure and instability of energy costs, now is the time to start transitioning to here-and-now renewable sources of industrial process heat, such as heat pumps, biogas and biomass.
Switching to renewable heat will ensure Australian companies are better positioned to reach net zero targets on a low-cost pathway, can lock in and predict costs of heating over coming years and stay competitive in a low-carbon global market.
Why attend the Australian Renewable Heat Conference 2024?
This conference will be unlike other industry conferences. Instead, this conference will be focussed on the 'how', with attendees walking away at the end empowered and with a plan to accelerate their efforts to decarbonise process heat.
Designed for industrial energy end-users, the agenda will feature case studies and insights from end-users who have already begun this renewable heat transition.
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Learn about the latest renewable technologies which are available right now to provide industrial process heat with less emissions and to control heating costs.
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Hear insights and experiences from innovative industry leaders already carving out practical pathways to decarbonisation
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Benefit from meeting and mixing with 200+ passionate industry and energy professionals
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Support the Australia's clean energy transition by helping to tackle industry's trickiest decarbonisation challenge: heat.
The event will also include a number of exhibitors showcasing innovative technology and solutions to aid the decarbonisation of industrial heat.
Conference program
The agenda and content for the Australian Renewable Heat Conference has been designed to drive action on decarbonising industrial heat and to empower manufacturers and other end-users with the knowledge and tools they need to develop cost-effective projects and get them over the line.
Each day will start with keynote speakers addressing the broader challenges of decarbonising industrial heat, then we will present sessions divided into two main categories:
Technologies
Learn about the latest innovative renewable heat technologies being implemented and developed with real-world case studies and insights from other end-users.
Enablers
Hear from experts on how you can halve the levelised cost of heating for your renewable heat project via funding opportunities and measures such as thermal storage and flexible demand, along with advice on making your business case.
Day 1 - Wednesday 25 September
8:30 - 10:00 am
Session 1: Welcome to Country + The role of renewable heat to meet emission reduction targets
With around half industrial end-use energy used for heat, how can we accelerate the transition to renewable heat?
Session sponsor:
Session Chair
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Uncle Allan
John Madden
Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council
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Kylie Hargreaves
Chair
Jennie Cassidy
Director, Industrial Energy Efficiency
Kim Curtain
Deputy Secretary
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John O'Donnell
Founder & Chief Innovation Officer
Peter Haenke
Investment Manager
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10:00 - 10:30 am - MORNING TEA AND NETWORKING
10:30 - 12:00 pm
Session 2: Three actions to halve your levelised cost of heating
Citing examples from implemented projects, our speakers will detail how digitalisation, load-flexing and energy efficiency measures can help slash the capital expenditure and ongoing costs of your project and deliver a range of non-energy benefits.
Session sponsor:
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Session Chair
Sage Michaels
Head of Partnerships
Assoc. Professor
Andrea Trianni
Deputy Head of School (Research) - Centre for Advanced Manufacturing
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Satinder Sahni
Group Senior Manager - Utilities
Glenn Schultz
Strategic Sector Lead - Retail, Property and Manufacturing
12:00 - 1:00 pm - LUNCH AND NETWORKING
1:00 - 2:00 pm
Session 3: Electrification – here-and-now technologies to decarbonise
Hear the results of projects from Australia and New Zealand which have implemented technologies such as electrode boilers, heat pumps, mechanical vapour recompression and thermal batteries to enable the electrification of process heat.
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Session Chair
Laura Taylor
Communications
Manager
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Jan Hemmerich
General Manager - Australia
Eujin Tan
Energy Engineer
Paddy Mc Myler
Managing Director
Session sponsor:
2:00 - 3:00 pm
Session 4: Securing electrification support from networks and retailers
Essential for the success of renewable heat projects and for the clean energy transition as a whole will be partnerships and support from electricity networks and retailers. This session will explore the future of tariffs and how to collaborate with networks to fast-track connections and upgrade processes.
Session Chair
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Dr Rowena
Cantley-Smith
Ian Askell
Senior Commercial
Specialist – Electrification
Felicity Wall
Microgrid Development Manager
Ross Milne
Asset Care Manager
Session sponsor:
3:00 - 3:30 pm - AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING
3:30 - 4:30 pm
Session 5: Integrating grants, incentives and R&D into your project to impress the CFO
Some of the greatest obstacles in the energy transition can be internal. Learn how to frame your project and take advantage of various grants, certificates, incentives and R&D partnerships to make the financial, emissions and non-energy benefits irresistible to the senior decision-makers in your organisation.
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Session Chair
Jonathan Jutsen
Director
Jutsen Innovation
Dr Rebecca Barnes
National Grants Manager
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Marguerite Collins
Principal - Partnerships and Innovation
Atta Ullah Sanai
Senior Project Officer
Session sponsor:
4:30 - 5:00 pm
Presentation of the Australian Renewable Heat Awards
Join us for the presentation of the inaugural Australian Renewable Heat Awards. The Awards recognise the innovative work out there which is leading the transition to renewable heat and setting the benchmarks for projects that follow. There are three project categories electrification (including heat pumps), biogas and biomass.
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Networking drinks and canapes
After a long day of information and inspiration, you can relax, mingle and make new connections in a room of energy and decarbonisation leaders as you enjoy a drink or two.
Sponsor:
Day 2 - Thursday 26 September
8:30 - 10:00 am
Session 6: The momentum towards renewable heat in Australia and around the world
Decarbonising industrial heat is a key challenge for all countries and markets. We will hear about how other countries are approaching this challenge and how Australia is tracking in comparison.
Session Chair
Jarrod Leak
Chief Executive Officer
Jonathan Pooch
Managing Director
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Hugues Defreville
Co-founder & Present
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Blaine Collison
Executive Director
Session sponsor:
10:00 - 10:30 am - MORNING TEA AND NETWORKING
10:30 - 12:00 pm
Session 7: Creating organisational alignment to accelerate decarbonisation projects: it's complicated!
An honest conversation with leaders from the Sustainability Advantage network about the grit, determination and key collaborations necessary to advance net zero ambitions, moderated by Sustainability Advantage.
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Session Chair
Jo Cooper
Senior Project Officer
Justin Merrell
Group Sustainability
Director
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Renata Wilkosz
Group Sustainability Manager
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Scott Edwards
Sustainability Lead
Session sponsor:
12:00 - 1:00 pm - LUNCH AND NETWORKING
1:00 - 2:30 pm
Session 8: Success factors in implementing biogas projects and the near-term potential
With real-world projects as examples, the speakers in this session will highlight the advantages of different applications of biogas technologies, from direct usage, to precinct collaborations to network injection.
Session sponsor:
Samantha Lamond
Commercial Project
Development
Dr Rowena
Cantley-Smith
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Martin Brownlee
Environmental Compliance Manager
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Melissa Perrow
Group Manager - Energy
Steve Budden
Technical Director
2:30 - 3:00 pm - AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING
3:00 - 4:30 pm
Session 9: Success factors in implementing biomass projects and near-term market potential
Biomass boiler technology is a proven choice for renewable heating and adoption is increasing. In this session we explore the latest in project development, feedstocks availability, and lessons learned from recent projects.
Session sponsor:
Session Chair
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Diana Hallam
Chief Executive Officer
Fabiano Ximenes
Senior Research Scientist,
Forest Carbon
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Kevin Liao
Lead Energy Engineer
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Andrew Cheah
Head of Group Energy
Sohum Gandhi
Managing Director
4:30 - 5:00 pm
Jarrod Leak
Chief Executive Officer
Session 10: Conference wrap-up and maintaining the transition momentum from here