CASE STUDY
Funding Review - Ara Ake Limited (new energy accelerator)
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)
The opportunity
To help develop and scale renewable energy investments, a centre for future energy development, Ara Ake, was established in 2020. The impetus for its creation stemmed from Taranaki’s regional development strategy (Tapuae Roa Strategy 2017) and the Taranaki Roadmap 2050. Ara Ake Limited was launched in July 2020:
“To foster a new energy eco system, leveraging national and global knowledge and expertise to bridge the innovation "valley of death" by reducing the time, cost and risk associated with the development and commercialisation of new energy innovation, as New Zealand transitions to a low emissions future.”
In April 2019 the Government allocated $27 million over four years plus $7 million outyear funding from Budget 2019 to support the establishment of the National New Energy Development Centre in Taranaki – Ara Ake. Under the Funding Agreement, the Ministry must undertake a review of Ara Ake in financial year 2022/23 to determine its progress to date against the Business Case, and as part of that review make a recommendation to the Government on future funding from financial year 2023/24.
What we did
The focus of the Review was to assess the progress that Ara Ake has made to date, and to ascertain the amount of funding required for Ara Ake to achieve its purpose in the future. As well as considering progress against the Business Case, the Review considered progress against the Work Programme and Objectives of the Centre outlined in Ara Ake’s Funding Agreement.
To inform the Review a series of interviews were conducted to better understand how Ara Ake is performing against its mission and purpose, and – where possible – identify opportunities for Ara Ake to enhance its impact. In addition to wide ranging interviews, a number of documents were analysed to assess the financial situation for Ara Ake, and a range of funding options were developed and evaluated.
The outcome
Our report into Review findings was used as the basis of a Briefing paper to the Minister for Energy and Resources and subsequently to inform drafting of a new five year funding agreement for Ara Ake Limited.
Our team
