Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Today, Cleaning Up launches its Deep Dive Australia series. Featuring conversations with nine leaders of the climate and clean energy scene, the series explores where Australia is leading the world, where it is not, and how it got there.
This is an important moment for Australia. The country was extraordinarily exposed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, being the largest per capita importer of diesel in the world. It's also uniquely dependent on China as the destination of its mineral exports and the source of a lot of its technology imports. And in November, Australia will be co-president with Turkiye of the COP Climate Summit in Antalya.
In the first of Cleaning Up’s Deep Dive Australia series, Michael Liebreich speaks with Darren Miller, the CEO of ARENA (the Australian Renewable Energy Agency), the federal body responsible for deploying over $14 billion AUD in grants to clean energy projects across Australia. Michael Liebreich speaks with Darren about where Australia is leading the world, and where it still has ground to make up.
They explore how ARENA funds innovation into pioneering clean tech, why Australia has quietly become the world's third largest battery market, and what it will take to turn the Pilbara's iron ore into green steel. They also discuss the Hydrogen Headstart Fund, the slow uptake of EVs, vehicle-to-grid, community batteries, and the moment the Hormuz crisis exposed Australia as the world's largest per capita importer of diesel.
Topics include:
• How ARENA's funding model works and what makes it different from a typical government agency
• Australia's green iron and steel opportunity
• Greening Pilbara ore
• Where Australia could achieve solar at $20 per megawatt hour
• How Australia became the world's third largest consumer battery market
• Transport electrification: vehicle-to-grid, EV charging, and the plug-in hybrid problem
• Sustainable Aviation Fuel: ARENA's newest frontier and the cost challenge ahead
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live
Links
• Watch all episodes of Cleaning Up's Deep Dive Australia series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc8cNKXCII70
• Darren Miller’s bio: linkedin.com/in/darrenhmiller
• ARENA: https://arena.gov.au/
• Mariana Mazzucato on Cleaning Up: youtube.com/watch?v=nX7mhh53GOw
Acronyms
• AMGC - Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre
• ACAP - Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics
• DNSP - Distribution Network Service Provider
• OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer
• UNSW - University of New South Wales
• SAF - Sustainable Aviation Fuel
• DRI - Direct Reduced Iron
• CEFC - Clean Energy Finance Corporation
• PERC - Passivated Emitter Rear Conductor Cell,
• HEFA - Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
01:00 - Deep Dive Australia
05:15 - The Australian Renewable Energy Agency
09:13 - Funding Innovation
13:10 - Australian Politics Overview
16:30 - Hydrogen
20:00 - Pilbara Iron Ores
25:00 - Australian Solar Pioneers
32:00 - How China Commercialised Solar
37:00 - Rooftop Solar & Batteries
42:00 - Stabilising Grids
44:17 - Community Batteries
49:40 - Australia's Lack of TVs
52:30 - Diesel Subsidies
56:30 - ARENA Success
59:00 - Working With Small Companies
01:01:01 - Australia's SAF Challenge
01:04:50 - Outro
Monetization ID B4AJC8AUDLMMIFEB
Today, Cleaning Up launches its Deep Dive Australia series. Featuring conversations with nine leaders of the climate and clean energy scene, the series explores where Australia is leading the world, where it is not, and how it got there.
This is an important moment for Australia. The country was extraordinarily exposed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, being the largest per capita importer of diesel in the world. It's also uniquely dependent on China as the destination of its mineral exports and the source of a lot of its technology imports. And in November, Australia will be co-president with Turkiye of the COP Climate Summit in Antalya.
In the first of Cleaning Up’s Deep Dive Australia series, Michael Liebreich speaks with Darren Miller, the CEO of ARENA (the Australian Renewable Energy Agency), the federal body responsible for deploying over $14 billion AUD in grants to clean energy projects across Australia. Michael Liebreich speaks with Darren about where Australia is leading the world, and where it still has ground to make up.
They explore how ARENA funds innovation into pioneering clean tech, why Australia has quietly become the world's third largest battery market, and what it will take to turn the Pilbara's iron ore into green steel. They also discuss the Hydrogen Headstart Fund, the slow uptake of EVs, vehicle-to-grid, community batteries, and the moment the Hormuz crisis exposed Australia as the world's largest per capita importer of diesel.
Topics include:
• How ARENA's funding model works and what makes it different from a typical government agency
• Australia's green iron and steel opportunity
• Greening Pilbara ore
• Where Australia could achieve solar at $20 per megawatt hour
• How Australia became the world's third largest consumer battery market
• Transport electrification: vehicle-to-grid, EV charging, and the plug-in hybrid problem
• Sustainable Aviation Fuel: ARENA's newest frontier and the cost challenge ahead
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live
Links
• Watch all episodes of Cleaning Up's Deep Dive Australia series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc8cNKXCII70
• Darren Miller’s bio: linkedin.com/in/darrenhmiller
• ARENA: https://arena.gov.au/
• Mariana Mazzucato on Cleaning Up: youtube.com/watch?v=nX7mhh53GOw
Acronyms
• AMGC - Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre
• ACAP - Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics
• DNSP - Distribution Network Service Provider
• OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer
• UNSW - University of New South Wales
• SAF - Sustainable Aviation Fuel
• DRI - Direct Reduced Iron
• CEFC - Clean Energy Finance Corporation
• PERC - Passivated Emitter Rear Conductor Cell,
• HEFA - Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
01:00 - Deep Dive Australia
05:15 - The Australian Renewable Energy Agency
09:13 - Funding Innovation
13:10 - Australian Politics Overview
16:30 - Hydrogen
20:00 - Pilbara Iron Ores
25:00 - Australian Solar Pioneers
32:00 - How China Commercialised Solar
37:00 - Rooftop Solar & Batteries
42:00 - Stabilising Grids
44:17 - Community Batteries
49:40 - Australia's Lack of TVs
52:30 - Diesel Subsidies
56:30 - ARENA Success
59:00 - Working With Small Companies
01:01:01 - Australia's SAF Challenge
01:04:50 - Outro
Monetization ID B4AJC8AUDLMMIFEB
