The Zero Hub led by big miners was launched in Dubbo to start a technology-driven emissions reduction

The Zero Business Incubator and Innovation Zone will stimulate a concerted effort by the region's 33 big miners, energy providers, universities, and technology researchers to enable their operations and supply chains to achieve a net zero future.

"The resources sector is changing and it's not a dirty sector anymore but an exciting sector in terms of what they are doing with innovation and research and opportunities existing around environment and technology," Regional Development Australia Orana (RDA Orana) chief executive Megan Dixon said.

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The RDA Orana and Orana Opportunity Network (O2N) has been developing the region's Zero Hub concept since 2018 modeling it from existing hubs in other resources-rich regions such as the Hunter in NSW and Mackay in Queensland seeing enormous economic opportunities, Ms Dixon said.

"We think there is a tremendous opportunity for this region on net zero emission because we already have the Central West-Orana Renewable Energy Zone working with the industry which has committed to achieving net zero," Ms Dixon said.

One of the region's big miners, Australian Strategic Materials (ASM), which produces critical metals will be part of the hub so it can achieve its long-term goal of reducing emissions but to achieve that goal, they also need help with innovation, Ms Dixon said.

The business plan for the hub to be completed by June this year has been funded by the NSW government with $207,687.50 for the O2N, Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders said.

"This funding is for the Orana Opportunity Network to look at providing a strategic business case to head towards our target net zero from Australia's perspective and the state's perspective as well," Mr Saunders said.

"Being part of the REZ investment and being the heartland of critical minerals and rare earth minerals in NSW, we are a rich region and growing and we have to ensure that each part of the supply chain will have the opportunity to reach their net zero as well."

Ms Dixon said one of the resources sectors' peak bodies, the International Copper Association of Australia was among those that committed to being part of the process of eventually achieving net zero starting by reducing emissions.

"They know they can't achieve net zero emission if the supply chain is not part of the solution. It's a big task to achieve a low-emission future.

"There are really good innovative researches happening in the sector they see themselves producing the products and how they can activate the supply chain moving as well with having electric vehicles and safety standards around the implementation.

"Another example is the regeneration of the bush and how universities work with mining industries in the Hunter for solutions. We want to activate what is happening in that partnership in the Hunter to be here in our region as well."

Mr Saunders said the national policy on net zero is a long-term vision for the region's resources and energy producers because it involves transforming their business models but how to help them "move in that direction is the starting point" the Zero Hub in Dubbo will do.

"The mining industries are reducing their emissions by themselves with industries like copper and silver mining, how they are extracting from the ground and doing it with less emission.

"The hub is about Orana being part of that future growth and developing those opportunities at the start ...The hub is step one to make this happen, we have to start somewhere."

A local contractor will be engaged to design the hub's physical facility in Dubbo, being the largest central business district in the far west.

Once established, the Zero Hub will provide business advice, guidance for research, and collaboration on business partnerships focused on the energy and resources sector in the region to achieve their net-zero targets

The hub's funding came from the state government's $3.3 billion Regional Growth Fund which creates a pipeline of investment-ready projects to spur economic opportunities, Mr Saunders said.