The newly established National Energy Public Key Infrastructure (NEPKI) Ltd has formally incorporated, marking a major milestone in strengthening the security, trust, and resilience of Australia’s distributed and consumer energy resources.

NEPKI has successfully secured funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program to support its initial development and operational setup. ARENA’s support underscores the importance of cyber-secure digital infrastructure in Australia’s clean energy transition. By building and operating a trusted certificate authority and related services, NEPKI will provide confidence in secure, reliable, and efficient transition to a renewable and distributed energy future.

To guide its establishment and growth, NEPKI has appointed an experienced inaugural Board of Directors, bringing together expertise from across Australia. The board includes:

• Independent Chair: Lachlan Blackhall
• Independent Directors: Anissa Levy, Caitlin Trethewy, Ed Chan, James Brown
• Energy Networks Australia Designated Director: Dominic Adams

“As Australia moves towards a cleaner, distributed energy future, we need to make sure the digital systems that support our electricity grid are safe and reliable. NEPKI will help provide that assurance for businesses, communities, and households alike,” said Chair Lachlan Blackhall.

The Board will oversee NEPKI’s mission to secure Australia’s consumer energy resources with trusted digital identity and encryption services, ensuring interoperability and cyber resilience for market participants, operators, and consumers.

Additionally, the board appointed Naomi Wynn as Chief Executive Officer, and Travis Kauschke as Chief Operating Officer to establish and operationalise NEPKI’s core services.

About NEPKI

The National Energy Public Key Infrastructure (NEPKI) is a not-for-profit, collaborative industry initiative established to deliver secure, interoperable, and compliant digital identity and encryption services for consumer energy resources in Australia.

The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.

 ENDS