Funding to develop methane abatement technologies in the resources sector for coal and gas

The Resources Methane Abatement Fund provides funding for research organisations to undertake development, prototype verification and validation, and demonstration level projects of methane abatement technologies related to coal and gas industries.

The Resources Methane Abatement Fund supports the Australian Government’s legislated emissions reductions targets and commitments to the Global Methane Pledge. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28-times greater than carbon dioxide. The resources sector, specifically coal and gas production, is the second largest source of methane, both in Australia and globally.

Demand for coal and gas is expected to remain significant over the coming decades, even as the world transitions to low emissions technologies.

Reducing methane emissions from the resources sector will therefore be an important part of the transition to net zero, both in Australia and overseas. However, there are currently limited technologies for abating methane emissions from the resources sector, particularly with respect to coal production. The development of additional cost effective technology options will help to mitigate these emissions.

This program provides support for research organisations to undertake development, prototype verification and validation, and demonstration level projects.

The objectives of this program are to support universities, publicly funded research organisations and non-profit research organisations to:

• accelerate the development and deployment of methane abatement technologies
• reduce costs of abatement technologies
• reduce Australia’s methane emissions
• complement the Safeguard Mechanism reforms
• support the Government’s commitments to the Global Methane Pledge

The intended outcomes of the program are to:

• increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of priority methane abatement technologies in the coal and gas sector
• promote methane abatement opportunities for the resources sector
• accelerate deployment of abatement technologies
• support opportunities for First Nations’ researchers to be involved in technology development.