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What is the Future Fuels Fund?
The Future Fuels Fund is a program, delivered by ARENA, which aims to accelerate the uptake of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). ZEVs include Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and biofuel vehicles.
Round 2 will help road fleet operators shift to new zero emission vehicle technology by supporting:
- electric vehicle charging
- hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.
Background
The $250 million Future Fuels Fund is the centrepiece of the Future Fuels and Vehicles Strategy. The strategy is a technology-led approach to reducing emissions in the transport sector. The government will continue to partner with industry to give Australian consumers and businesses greater confidence to purchase low emission vehicles that work for them.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will administer round 2 of the Future Fuels Fund. It will make $127.9 million available to:
- light vehicle fleet operators to integrate battery electric vehicles into their fleet
- heavy fleet operators to integrate battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles into their fleet.
Under round 1 of the fund, ARENA awarded $24.55 million to 5 companies to roll out 403 electric vehicle fast charging stations across the country. This is generating a combined $79.9 million in public–private investment.
Future funding rounds will target public charging, public hydrogen refuelling and private household smart charger installations. ARENA will provide details for these rounds on the Future Fuels Fund webpage.
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Focus Areas
Applications are assessed on how well they contribute to the Program objectives and align with the following Program Focus Areas:
FOCUS AREA 1: SUPPORTING INTEGRATION OF BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES (BEVs) INTO LIGHT VEHICLE FLEETS
The Future Fuels Fund is seeking to help Australian businesses and other organisations move towards a decarbonised transport fleet, by helping to integrate BEV passenger vehicles, SUVs and light commercial vehicles (vans and utes) (Light Vehicles) into their fleets. The program is looking to support the following:
- Charging infrastructure, electrical upgrades and installation costs to help reduce the current total cost gap of BEVs.
- Integration of managed charging to optimise the integration of BEVs into the electricity system.
- A mix of different innovative solutions and business models to BEV integration including depot smart charging upgrades, home smart charging for employees and contractors, and other hardware and software solutions.
Projects must include:
- The deployment of light BEVs, charging and electrical infrastructure into:
- a single fleet; or
- through the aggregation of multiple smaller fleets into a combined larger application for funding;
- A commitment by Applicants and/or their partners to transition to BEVs as part of their proposal with larger commitments to be considered of higher merit; and
- Commit to source renewable energy and / or green certificates to cover electricity usage for BEVs
ARENA expects to fund grants of at least $1 million.
FOCUS AREA 2: SUPPORTING INTEGRATION OF BEVs INTO HEAVY VEHICLE FLEETS
The Future Fuels Fund is seeking to help Australian businesses and other organisations decarbonise their heavy transport fleet, by supporting the deployment and integration of heavy BEVs including trucks and buses. The program is looking to support the following:
- Charging infrastructure, electrical upgrades and installation costs to overcome the current cost gap of BEVs.
- A portion of the upfront vehicle costs to help overcome the initial cost premium of heavy BEVs where there is a justifiable economic gap.
- Evidence of a firm supply commitment to securing and operating heavy BEVs in the proposed use case. Applicants must be able to demonstrate firm evidence (including from vehicle suppliers) of the ability to deliver compliant vehicles within 18 months of the award of ARENA funding.
- Integration of managed charging to optimise the integration of BEVs into the electricity system.
- A mix of different innovative solutions and business models to BEV integration including depot smart charging upgrades and other hardware and software solutions.
- A range of industries to decarbonise, including transportation, agriculture and mining.
- For bus fleets, demonstration of new innovative approaches to charging.
- As part of a broader project with vehicles, ARENA may support the development of publicly available chargers that are suitable for freight and logistics customers, when they are helping to unlock greater use cases for Heavy BEVs.
Projects must include:
- The deployment of heavy BEVs, charging and electrical infrastructure into:
- a single fleet; or
- through the aggregation of multiple smaller fleets into a combined larger application for funding; and
- A commitment by Applicants and/or their partners to transition to BEVs as part of their proposal with larger commitments to be considered of higher merit; and
- Commit to source renewable energy and / or green certificates to cover electricity usage for BEVs
ARENA expects to fund grants of at least $1 million.
FOCUS AREA 3: COMMERCIALISE HYDROGEN AS A TRANSPORT FUEL
Hydrogen is an emerging fuel source for transport. At present, there is a limited range of commercially available fuel cell electric vehicles. ARENA funding under Focus Area 3 will only be available to projects that demonstrate sufficient evidence of vehicles commercially available.
The Future Fuels Fund is helping Australian businesses and other organisations integrate the use of hydrogen into their transport fleet, by supporting the deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and associated hydrogen infrastructure such as refueling stations. The program is looking to support the following:
- Hydrogen infrastructure such as electrolysers, refuelers and storage
- A portion of the upfront heavy vehicle costs to help overcome the initial cost premium of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
- Demonstrations of either back-to-base hydrogen use cases or intra/interstate journey enablement.
Projects must include:
- The demonstration and deployment of integrated hydrogen transport solutions which include hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that underpin demand for hydrogen and supporting hydrogen refueling infrastructure (e.g. refuelers, storage);
- Evidence of a firm supply commitment to securing and operating hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the proposed use case. Applicants should be able to demonstrate firm evidence (including from vehicle suppliers) of the ability to deliver Australian Design Rule (ADR) compliant vehicles within 18 months of the award of ARENA funding;
- A commitment by Applicants or their partners to transition to Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as part of their proposal with larger commitments to be considered of higher merit; and
- A firm commitment to use renewable hydrogen, produced by electrolysis, powered by renewables or Green Certificates to cover electricity usage.
ARENA expects to fund grants of at least $5 million.
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Objectives
The Future Fuels Fund Round 2 Objectives are to provide funding to:
- Overcome barriers to accelerate uptake of ZEVs by fleets
- Optimise the integration of BEVs into the grid (including smart chargers) to ensure cost effective outcomes.
- Demonstrate new use cases for ZEVs, and highlight opportunities for ZEVs to provide value.
- Increase skills, capacity and knowledge relevant to ZEV technologies.
Funding
The minimum Grant amount under the Program that can be sought from an Applicant is expected to be over $500,000.
ARENA will endeavour to provide the minimum amount of funding to allow the Project to proceed, and in certain cases, subject to all other parties to the Project receiving a commercial return. Where relevant, ARENA may use benchmarking, for example to the equivalent ICE equivalent cost of ownership to evaluate the appropriate Grant amount.
There is no limit to the amount of Grant funding that may be used for eligible Project costs, however ARENA may consider Projects with a higher co-contribution to be of higher merit.
Eligible Projects
This Round is open to Projects that meet all of the following requirements:
- Involves a Renewable Energy Technology that has the potential to contribute to the Program Objectives;
- Sources Renewable Energy or Green Certificates to cover the energy usage for ZEVs or uses sustainable biofuels or renewable hydrogen; and
- Includes the demonstration or deployment of equipment and/or technology solutions.
The Application must demonstrate to the satisfaction of ARENA that all of the Project activities will take place in Australia.
Eligible Applicants
The Future Fuels Fund Round 1 Applicant must:
- at the time of applying and throughout the life of the Project, hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and
- be either:
- an Australian entity incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth); or
- be an Australian State or Territory owned corporation or a subsidiary of an Australian state or territory owned corporation; or
- be an Australian local government or council.
Information Session
ARENA will host a virtual information session on Monday, 7 March 2022 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, which will include information about the Program and an opportunity to ask questions.
More Information
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FAQs
When can I apply? Is there a deadline for submitting an application?
Applicants can submit an Expression of Interest when the application portal opens on 21 February 2022. The Program will remain open until all funds available under the Program are exhausted or the Program Guidelines are revoked. ARENA will review and assess applications on an ongoing basis. ARENA expects assessment to occur on a bi-monthly basis however this timing may be shortened or extended as required by ARENA.
How do I ask questions in relation to the program? Can ARENA assist me with my application?
As this is an open funding program, ARENA can provide general guidance and advice to Applicants seeking to prepare an application. ARENA may also request additional information, documentation or clarification from the Applicant in relation to their application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact ARENA at futurefuels@arena.gov.au to discuss a Proposal prior to the submission of an EOI.
Can an organisation or individual submit more than one application or be a member of more than one project team?
Yes, there is no limit to the number of applications that can be submitted by an individual or organisation. However, if you or an organisation intend to be part of more than one application you must be able to justify that you will have, or be able to allocate, sufficient time and resources to all of the projects should they be successful. Each application must meet the requirements set out in the Program Guidelines.
Am I able to submit an application as part of the consortium?
Projects are able to be undertaken by multiple entities, however the consortium will need to nominate a Lead Applicant. If successful, the Lead Applicant will become the party that enters into the Funding Agreement with ARENA. Details of any partner organisations can be included within the Application form.
Can project partners be from overseas?
Yes. However, consistent with the eligibility criteria, only 10% of ARENA funds can be spent overseas except if being used to purchase equipment.
Will vehicles need to be included as part of a projects?
Vehicles will need to be included in the scope of projects as part of the initial Targeted Round of the ARENA. Projects will not be able to solely or primarily focused on additional public charging, which will be considered in a later round of the Program.
Can I apply for funding on behalf of multiple fleets?
Yes. businesses are able to apply for funding on behalf of multiple fleets if they are looking to install infrastructure for multiple customers.
How does ARENA consider the inclusion of other grant funding or concessional funding?
ARENA will consider the total amount of concessional funding that an Applicant has applied or received for the project in assessing projects. This includes both ARENA funding and other grant funding a project may receive from State or Commonwealth Government initiatives. It will also assess any project arrangements that may not be considered on commercial or arms length terms.
Latest News
RENA has announced that five recipients will share in $24.55 million to construct more than 400 new EV charging points around Australia.
The funding has been allocated through the first round of the Future Fuels Fund, which is focused on growing access to chargers for EV users in capital and regional cities.
ARENA has expanded its funding pool by $8.05 million to accommodate 19 projects led by five proponents, with each to install hardware capable of fast charging at least two cars simultaneously at a capacity of at least 50kW.
Funding has been awarded to:
- Evie Networks: $8.85 million for 158 stations across eight regions
- Ampol: $7.05 million for 121 stations across four regions
- Engie: $6.85 million for 103 stations across four regions
- Chargefox: $1.4 million for 16 stations across two regions
- Electric Highways Tasmania: $400,000 for five stations in one region
