The federal government is looking to accelerate investment and innovation for low-emission technologies through a new $1 billion low-emissions technology commercialization fund.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison framed the plan as a natural extension of the government’s newly announced path to net zero emissions by 2050.

“Our plan to reach net zero by 2050 is Australian that is focused on technology, not tax, and this fund supports Australian companies to find new solutions,” he said.

Designed to be administered by the existing Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), the creation of the fund involved a capital investment of $500 million from the government plus a further $500 million from the private sector.

The Prime Minister said the fund would help Australia become a world leader in creating affordable and scalable low-emissions technology through investment in carbon capture and storage, solar panels, soil carbon and other low-emissions technologies.

“We support Australian businesses by creating an environment where their successful ideas can flourish, as opposed to Labor’s approach of always wanting to tax success,” he said.

Federal Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the fund would support and support Australian innovation while earning a positive return for taxpayers.

“It will address a gap in the Australian market where currently small, sophisticated, technology-focused start-ups may be considered too risky to fund,” he said.

The government said it expects a return of between $3 and $5 per dollar invested in the fund, with an estimated 160,000 jobs to be created by 2030.

Mr Taylor also said the fund would complement other investments and build on CEFC’s legacy as the world’s largest state-owned environmental bank.

The government has said it plans to introduce the necessary legislation to establish the fund during the upcoming parliamentary term and before the next election.

This is necessary because the current legislation that underpins the CEFC’s mandate prohibits the agency from investing in technologies such as carbon capture and storage.

The federal government unsuccessfully tried to extend this remit earlier in June 2021.

According to the Australian Government’s Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan, “large-scale CCUS projects can support new low-emissions industries (including clean hydrogen) and provide a potential decarbonisation pathway for industries that are difficult to reduce”.

The federal government said it has invested $790 million in CCUS and related low-emission technologies since 2008.

However, the real-world results provided by the technology so far have largely fallen short in the years since.

“Carbon capture and storage has failed to deliver anything for decades. While the cost of solar and renewable energy has collapsed, carbon capture and storage remains prohibitively expensive,” said Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes.