Our Research

RACE has five programs comprising 11 research themes.

The five research programs are:

  • RACE for Business – Boosting business energy productivity via digitalisation, electrification and value chain optimisation
  • RACE for Homes – Developing and applying new energy technologies and solutions for consumers
  • RACE for Networks – Better network services and lower costs through customer distributed energy resources and network integration
  • RACE for EVs – Driving growth and utilisation of electric vehicles by optimising customers’ transport and power use and accelerating their integration with Australia’s electricity grid 
  • RACE for Change – Foresighting, stakeholder engagement, trust building, capacity building, training and education.

RACE for Business

Digitalising industry

Examining how data-driven insights and connectivity can unlock value-added services driven by circular economy practices to improve productivity and reduce emissions.

Decarbonising businesses
and supply chains

Developing innovative business models to scale energy efficient solutions in new and existing businesses focusing on HVAC, fuel substitution, renewable integration, flexible operation and innovative building materials.

RACE for Homes

Mainstreaming efficient
electric homes

Exploring how to enable households to electrifying everything within homes, including the role of community-based solutions and policy and regulatory settings required to decarbonise homes and improve health outcomes.

Engineering smarter homes

Considering home technologies that enable flexible responsive actions to minimise costs and
emissions including understating what level of control users are willing to give to devices, systems, and companies, and how benefits can transfer to the wider community.

RACE for Networks

Designing future
networks

Understanding emerging social trends, lifestyles, routines, and practices of end users and their impact on power system design and the evolving role of market architecture.

Developing local grid
solutions

Determining how end users want to use, control and value their CER devices including where, when, and how CER could be best deployed to minimise costs and emissions using real-time facilities that allow faster local decision-making.

RACE for EVs

Optimising transport
and power use

Investigating ownership models that balance consumer expectations of economic benefits with
their transport needs across various cohorts including optimal provision services through advanced integrated design.

Integrating electric
vehicles with the grid

Exploring user behavior, incentives and pricing strategies that establish preferences for smart charging for individuals and fleets, including the role of V2X and wide-spread EV use effects on power system dynamics.

RACE for Change

Incorporating end users in
whole-of-system design

Understanding and enabling consumer preferences in a true optimisation of demand and supply options, including innovative foresighting methods and policy and regulatory enablers for whole-of-system planning.

Transforming systems
through innovation

Developing proactive longitudinal approaches to track the success of project outcomes and refine research priorities by building tailored communities of practice including and selective systems-based training for key decision makers.

Building a net zero
workforce

Enabling a future ready workforce to deliver rapid large-scale decarbonisation including skills set mapping along with development programs in schools, vocational and tertiary facilities, and industry.