Technology and digitalisation are critical to putting Australia on track for a low-carbon, high-productivity future, and a new national design challenge is encouraging engineers to dream up new ways to achieve it.
When Keith Ritchie looks at Australia’s future, he thinks of the words of Australia’s former Chief Scientist Alan Finkel.
“The world is undertaking the most difficult energy and economic transition since the start of agriculture – the enormous technological challenge to build the reliable, affordable, zero-emissions energy system of the future,” Finkel wrote in 2023.
For Ritchie, however, who is Head of Communication and Government Affairs for Siemens Australia and New Zealand, that transition is an opportunity. In fact, he is urging Australia to not just meet its decarbonisation targets, but to exceed them.
“Australia is responsible for about 1 per cent of global emissions,” Ritchie said.
“If we meet all of our targets and get to net-zero emissions by 2050, Australia will have addressed one per cent of the world’s emissions. But it’s quite limiting to only do what you’re statistically responsible for,” says Ritchie.
“It’s limiting for the world, and it prevents Australia from doing everything it could for business and for the economy. Australia’s performance at the Paris Olympics is a great analogy. Statistically we should have ranked 55 in line with our population – but instead we ranked fourth.”
Beyond 1%
Ritchie’s perspective squares firmly with Siemens’ Beyond 1% theme, which advocates for Australia to play a pivotal role in decarbonising the world.
“We believe that if you accelerate digitalisation and technology across all sectors, then Australia could go beyond one per cent of carbon emission reduction,” Ritchie said.
“We could have better outcomes for the energy transition, we could have better outcomes for energy efficiency, and we could have better outcomes for industrial innovation. In doing so we not only reach our own targets in the most effective and efficient ways, but we also become more productive locally and more globally competitive. Just as carbon has no borders, neither does digitalisation.”
“If we accelerate digitalisation and innovation from Australia, we can have an impact beyond our borders, because genuine innovation can apply across an entire sector, supply chain, system, process or vertical market.”
As an example, Ritchie highlighted Victoria-based company Automation Innovation, which is using AI and robotic automation to clean the metal moulds used to produce glass bottles. The laser removes build-up without damaging the mould, eliminating the need for chemicals or ceramic bead blasting.
“The potential through raw material savings of silica alone is enough to decarbonise the glass bottling industry globally by more than one billion kilograms of CO2 each year,” he said.
An integral aspect of the Beyond 1% aspiration is that economic growth and sustainability are not separate goals that offset one another. Rather, if it takes the right approach, an Australia with lower carbon emissions will be a country that is richer, more prosperous, and with greater economic complexity. The key to reducing embodied carbon in the entire global supply chain lies in innovation which can drive outcomes such as less raw materials, less weight and less waste.
To illustrate this, Ritchie points to the potential for grid-simulation software to drive better decision making in the energy sector or deploying technology that enables electricity networks to incorporate digital substations.
“Endeavour Energy’s digital substation in New South Wales is a great example,” he said. “It used 90 per cent less copper in the construction phase and 75 per cent less concrete for the same outcome as a traditional substation.”
Construction and building operations represent another realm in which digitalisation pays sustainability dividends. In Australia, where commercial buildings consume one quarter of the nation’s electricity, efficiency gains can lead to considerable savings in both carbon and cost.
“Ashbridge Capital’s Riverside Centre in South Australia is a recent example of a facility that was upgraded through our technology,” Ritchie said.
“It achieved a 50 per cent reduction in its electricity costs; it’s a 5.5-star NABERS-rated building now. That means it’s worth more, and it reduced emissions by 67.5 per cent.”
Shift Into Action
To encourage engineers, as well as the broader public, to think more creatively about how they embrace technology and digitalisation to decarbonise the world, Siemens is launching its Shift Into Action challenge.
Ritchie said we are in an unprecedented era of digital democratisation with cutting-edge tools such as AI and digital twinning, once exclusive to industrial giants, now at our fingertips.
“There’s never been a time where the tools of innovation have been so accessible to so many. And the gap between innovation and creation has never been so narrow. We want to help people understand that there are many ways to decarbonise the future, and we all can play a role,” he said.
Inspired by the iconic BMW R18 bike seen in the film Mad Max: Furiosa, Shift Into Action is a challenge that calls on Australians to reimagine the bike in a positive future. Using Siemens’ leading industrial design software, Solid Edge, participants will be asked to create a customised version of the bike in a positive and sustainable future instead of the post-apocalyptic setting of the film.
“We think that people will be really creative with this and come up with some cool ideas, using the most powerful features of Solid Edge, including built-in generative design (AI)” Ritchie said.
“We want people to consider things like what this bike will look like, what materials could be used, how future advanced manufacturing could support the concept – at the same time, keeping the heart and soul of this iconic cruiser.”
Winners will receive a trip for two to Germany where they will get behind-the-scenes access to Siemens industrial facilities, as well as visits to BMW World in Munich and BMW Motorrad in Berlin.
The Shift into Action challenge was pre-announced in August at Engineers Australia’s Climate Smart Engineering (CSE25) conference in South Australia. Participants who register their interest now can get a head-start with access to resources before the formal launch in early 2026, with exclusive access to additional information about the competition.
Speaking at CSE25, Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew said the challenge perfectly aligns with the spirit of CSE25 and highlights the collaborative spirit of engineers, industry and innovators.
“Engineers are on the frontline of climate change, not just responding to its impacts but leading the way in adaptation and mitigation,” Madew said.
“The Shift into Action challenge is an exciting way to inspire new thinking about the role of technology and design in building a resilient, sustainable future.”
Peter Halliday, CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand, pre-announced the competition at CSE25, noting there has never been a more important moment to harness technology for transformation.
“Technology has been at the heart of every major transformation, and today the tools of innovation, digital design, AI, and software, are more accessible than ever,” he said.
“The clear answer to Australia’s productivity dilemma is to accelerate technology and digitalisation.
“This challenge brings together creativity, technology and sustainability to demonstrate how design and engineering can reimagine industries and accelerate decarbonisation.”
Find out more information about the Siemens Shift into Action challenge and register your interest at www.shiftintoaction.com.au
