Local Community Outreach for Energy Efficiency

Clean energy innovation in the Hunter

On 2 April 2025, the University's I2N Startup Stories program at the Honeysuckle Innovation Hub featured University alumnus Peter Richardson, founder and CEO of Facet Amtech. The public event explored how a Newcastle cleantech startup is making ammonia production cleaner and more energy efficient, using less energy while reducing emissions and manufacturing costs.

The session connected clean-energy research and entrepreneurship with the Hunter's startup community, showing how energy-efficiency innovation can move from the laboratory into practical industrial applications.

Energy learning through the Science and Engineering Challenge

The University's Science and Engineering Challenge is a nationwide STEM outreach program delivered in partnership with communities, Rotary clubs, universities and sponsors. In 2025, more than 26,800 students from over 873 schools took part, including Challenge and Discovery Days in Newcastle, the Central Coast and other regional communities.

Energy and sustainability are built into the program's hands-on activities. In ElectraCITY, students design an electricity network for a model city and must find the most efficient, lowest-cost way to supply buildings while accounting for cable resistance and infrastructure costs. Other activities include wind-turbine design and environmentally responsive housing.

The 2025 event calendar included Newcastle Challenge Days from 4-10 April and Newcastle Discovery Days from 8-12 September, alongside events throughout New South Wales and every Australian state and territory.

Building energy literacy through practical outreach

These programs give school students, community members, innovators and local industry practical ways to engage with energy efficiency and clean-energy solutions. They connect technical concepts with real-world decisions about electricity use, industrial processes, renewable technologies and sustainable design.

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