Discover our Projects
Through our project fund, NERA is working to maximise value to the Australian economy by developing an energy resources sector that is globally competitive, sustainable, innovative and diverse. Supported projects aim to achieve sector-wide transformation by connecting large corporations, SMEs, technology providers, researchers and governments to address major challenges and unlock new economic, social and environmental opportunities for Australia.
NERA's $45 million project fund is supporting a total of 60 lighthouse projects, attracting matched industry funding from consortia of +700 industry and research partners. Our projects support the development of world-leading technology and expertise that may be deployed across a range of industrial sectors beyond the energy resources sector, including manufacturing, mining, defence, agriculture, space, construction, logistics, shipping, and chemicals.
Read more about some of our collaborative projects below.
Regional Hydrogen Technology Clusters
NERA has formed a network of hydrogen technology clusters across Australia, providing seed-funding in partnership with governments and industry to build the skills, capability and commercialisation opportunities in the emerging hydrogen industry.
Streamlining Environmental Approvals for Marine Seismic Survey Activities
This collaborative project seeks generate a single overarching approval process for seismic activities in the North West of Australia for a period of at least five years, with the aim of easing regulatory burden, improving certainty and environmental outcomes when applying for and conducting seismic activities in the CSEP project area.
Australian Ocean Energy Group
NERA is fast-tracking the formation of an industry-led ocean energy cluster that will strengthen collaboration, accelerate innovation and increase the current markets for Australia's ocean energy sector.
Solar LNG Study
This study examined the potential for integrating solar power into existing land-based Australian LNG plants to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Since these plants have already been built, the study investigated technologies to retrofit these facilities.
Landmark Study into Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)
NERA is supporting a landmark study that could lead to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions whilst also improving Australia's energy security.
Commercialising innovative digital twin technology
Through a series of industry pilot projects, NERA is supporting Perth-headquartered Engineering and Asset Management specialists Pressure Dynamics to commercialise their unique PDItech© technology.
Metal in Minutes
NERA is collaborating to support the development of a new high-speed, low-cost metal 3D printing technology specifically for the oil and gas industry, which can operate around 1,000 times the speed of conventional metal 3D printing at a fraction of the cost.
Lab61: Bringing robotics, students and industry together
NERA is supporting the establishment of Lab61 — Australia’s first dedicated robotics skills, training and education facility that is proudly female and indigenous led.
EX-rated Robotic Crawler
Through this project, Perth-based Robotic specialists Nexxis are assisting industry to transition towards a safer future by developing the world’s first EX-rated robotic crawler that can perform confined-space and hazardous inspections so that humans don’t have to.
Australia’s Remote Operations Capability
This project powered the Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE) consortium to map Australia's current technology capabilities and identify opportunities to position Australia as a future hub and exporter of remote operations technology solutions for space.
Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA)
NERA launched the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) in conjunction with industry as an independent centre for decommissioning in Australia.
Commercialising innovative sensor technology
NERA has supported Australian manufacturing and innovation through a collaborative project with Woodside Energy and Terra15, which involved a proof-of-concept on fin-fans used by the LNG industry.
ME-092 — Australia’s Mirror Committee for the Oil and Gas Industry
NERA and industry partners are supporting ME-092 by leading the management committee and facilitating workshops with industry and regulators to bring together Australia’s experts to achieve consistent application of standards to be applied to Australian oil and gas activities.
Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem (OIIE) and ISO 18101
This project provides Australian organisations with a vehicle to participate in the development and use of emerging interoperability standards which are critical to the future productivity of the mining and energy resources sectors.
Australia's Helium Future
This collaborative project aims to lower the cost barriers associated with helium production and add value to the gas industry by recovering the otherwise elusive helium in LNG production.
Using innovation to light new decommissioning pathways
Through this collaborative and industry-led project, Perth-based project partner Linch-pin will investigate the engineering feasibility of a new decommissioning method for the offshore oil and gas industry.
CSG Wellhead Compression
The project involves the development of a Gas Compressor specifically designed for coal seam gas (CSG) wellhead operation and production uplift.
Creating global pathways
Through our international exchange programs, NERA has helped forge valuable international market pathways between global energy ecosystems to accelerate international growth and create opportunities for Australian energy technology innovators and start-ups.
Modelling hydrate blockages
This collaborative project integrated a mechanistic hydrate model developed by The University of Western Australia into Wood’s operational online Virtuoso™ software package, allowing operators for the first time ever to calculate the operational risk of a hydrate blockage in their assets in real time.
Flattening the curve with 3D printing
With NERA’s support, Australian 3D printing company SPEE3D is providing a viable solution that will help slow the spread of COVID-19 and assist the combat against the virus.
Exmouth Integrated Artificial Reef
The $1 million Exmouth Integrated Artificial Reef is a unique project that will enhance marine habitat and recreational fishing opportunities by creating Australia’s first integrated artificial reef and the largest purpose-built reef habitat in Western Australia.
World-first Hydrate Test Facility
Improving our understanding of hydrates and how they form in subsea equipment can help industry solve a challenge that costs $1m per day to combat and up to $500m per asset to fully prevent.
TASER Living Lab
Four ‘living laboratories’ have been designed to help Australia’s oil & gas industry tackle the sector-wide costs incurred from operating in Australia’s challenging warm water environment.
WA Data Science Innovation Hub
Together with METS Ignited and Bankwest, NERA is proud to be a Foundation Member of the WA Data Science Innovation Hub (WADSIH), which connects industry to universities, ensuring the transfer of knowledge across various sectors impacted by digital disruption.
Wireless Industrial Sensor Environment Program
This project is enabling WISE to support use-case pilot projects with a range of industry and SME participants to identify, test and develop their new cost-effective technologies in a collaborative and controlled environment.
Science of Cyclones
This project improved the quality of historical tropical cyclone data to enhance understanding of the risk profile for new and existing offshore infrastructure. This means better informed decision making, reduced engineering costs, improved operational efficiency and better the safety of workers.
National Decommissioning Research Initiative (NDRI)
NERA is leading the development of the National Decommissioning Research Initiative (NDRI) to improve community, regulatory and industry understanding of the impact of infrastructure on the marine environment.
Smart Hull Cleaning
Further evolving CleanSubSea's Envirocart into a fully automated system that is revolutionising the way Australia's energy resources and marine industries combat biofouling.
Innovation Voucher Program
NERA’s Innovation Voucher Program encourage SMEs and innovators to work with potential clients in the energy resources sector to overcome a specific challenge or barrier to getting their technology commercialised.
LNG Living Lab
NERA is supporting the development of a micro-scale LNG futures facility to be built in Western Australia. The Facility is an initiative of the Australian Centre for LNG Futures (ACLNGF) — an Australian Research Council-funded Industrial Transformation Training Centre.
Solving remote power challenges with clean technology
With NERA's support, CD Power are successfully integrating solar, battery storage and gas generation technologies to create a reliable, low-carbon and economical alternative power supply for CSG wellsites.
Subsea Innovation Cluster Australia (SICA)
Backed by NERA and with important industry support, SICA is demonstrating the value of the cluster model by attracting operator interest and investment to Australian shores within the first 12 months of operation.
World-First Technology to Improve Groundwater Monitoring
NERA is supporting the commercialisation of Australian technology through a world-first field trial. CSIRO's Vesi™ technology has the potential to dramatically improve the accuracy of groundwater monitoring activities relating to in-situ recovery (ISR) operations.
Using data to unlock Australia’s resource base
NERA has partnered with The University of Queensland Centre for Natural Gas and industry operators to commercialise leading research that will improve the accuracy of the resource models used in the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) industry, contributing to more cost-effective resource planning.
RISE Accelerator Program
17 of Australia's most promising equipment, technology and service suppliers have graduated from the Resources Innovators, Scale-ups and Entrepreneurs (RISE) Accelerator Program.
Quantum TX
QuantumTX was created to strengthen capability and collaboration across Australia’s leading industries in technologies that bridge the mining, energy, agricultural and defence sectors and leverage competitive industry advantages into the $314 billion global space sector.
CORE Innovation Hub
NERA is a Foundation Partner of the CORE Innovation Hub — Australia's first co-working, collaboration and innovation hub focussed on the energy resources sector.
Improving environmental impact assessments for life of mine activities
NERA is supporting this collaborative industry–research–national authority project to improve and reduce uncertainties with environmental radiological impact assessments by expanding a national database of radiation concentration ratios of flora, fauna and soils in areas of Australia not previously surveyed.
Boosting understanding of the Great Artesian Basin
This project has established a team of independent reviewers and contributors to document the latest work on the aquifers of the Surat Basin and broader GAB. It has published a peer-reviewed evidence-based body of knowledge for the GAB to inform how to best manage this finite water resource into the future.
Identifying different sources of methane in groundwater
This project, led by the University of Queensland's Centre for Natural Gas, aims to develop best practice methodology for gas sampling from water bores in order to differentiate and measure naturally occurring subsurface gases.
The Jundah Project
This project seeks to prove the petroleum production potential of the highly prospective Toolebuc Formation, which has the potential to supply natural gas to the east coast domestic market, helping to address energy security priorities.
Open innovation platform
Nureka is an open source platform, providing both innovation and collaboration capability within a single structure, for users across the entire oil and gas ecosystem. Nureka is a collaboration between NERA and Eureka Platform Pty Ltd.
Converting tight contingent CSG resources
This project will create a methodology for the use of a new resource recovery method utilising graded particle injection (GPI).
Natural degradation of hydrocarbons
This 3-year long project aims to to verify the effectiveness of natural biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at contaminated sites under Australian conditions.
Optimisation of bulk export terminals
This project aims to boost the productivity of Australia's energy resources sector through increased bulk export terminal capability.
Unlocking Australia's uranium resources
NERA, Toro Energy, Cameco Australia, Separation Engineering, Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and Strategic Metallurgy developed a research program to significantly reduce the processing costs associated with carbonate-hosted deposits.