Dominic Zaal

Dominic Zaal works for CSIRO in the Energy Business Unit as Director of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI).  ASTRI is responsible for the development, demonstration and commercial uptake of solar thermal systems and technologies within Australia.

Dominic also works closely with industry on developing mid-temperature renewable heat solutions for industrial process heat applications.  These activities place a strong focus on the use of thermal energy storage (TES) to enable renewable energy (heat / power) solutions at night. The key industry focus areas are manufacturing, agriculture, transport, and minerals processing.

Prior to joining CSIRO, Dominic worked in the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), where he was responsible for developing strategies for commercial uptake of renewable energy technologies targeting industrial, remote mining, and mineral processing applications.  Dominic also managed an ARENA Program Team responsible for a diverse range of renewable energy technology areas including PV, wind, wave, solar thermal, bioenergy, geothermal and renewable fuels. 

Before joining ARENA, Dominic worked in various federal government departments, where he was responsible for a range of industry and energy programs. This included the Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) Program, which assisted large Australian companies to identify and implement energy efficiency savings.  It also included the development and management of a wide range of Defence industry programs.