It has long been a trusted mining partner of countries across the world, but there is urgency for Australia to expand its downstream options as the world decarbonises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any new industry can present a race to the top, with early adopters best placed to capitalise on new market share and gain a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the case in the context of decarbonisation, where more and more countries are recognising the commercial opportunities that come with establishing the net-zero power sources of a cleaner future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The situation represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and Australia is beginning to understand the role it can play in supporting the green transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having established itself as a mining superpower, Australia is already a key supplier of the materials driving the world\u2019s renewable energy technologies. But the country can be more than the world\u2019s green-energy quarry, with opportunities to look further downstream and establish vertically integrated renewable industries onshore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One avenue could be to develop a local battery supply chain, something the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC) sees as a particularly urgent commercial pathway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe clean-energy transition is moving faster,\u201d FBICRC chief executive officer Shannon O\u2019Rourke told Australian Mining<\/em>. \u201cGovernment spending on clean energy has increased 30 per cent in the past two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cGreater subsidies are driving electric vehicle (EV) demand and increasing commodity prices and volumes. In the past 18 months, the opportunity for Australia has doubled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nFBICRC released a report in March suggesting Australia\u2019s battery opportunity could contribute $16.9 billion to the Australian economy by 2030.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The report, Charging Ahead \u2013 Australia\u2019s Battery Powered Future<\/em>, highlights Australia\u2019s mining and geological upside, particularly in the production and endowment of critical minerals, and how this can support capabilities further downstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis not only encompasses battery manufacturing but other segments in the value chain, such as refining and active materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAustralia is cost-competitive across the entire value chain,\u201d O\u2019Rourke said. \u201cWe are eight per cent cheaper than Indonesia to produce advanced materials and five per cent cheaper than the United States to produce cells.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nAustralia also has a significant advantage in refining, with the potential to be the world\u2019s cheapest producer of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) through upstream integration in the supply chain. This is the result of Australia\u2019s abundant lithium reserves and mining capacity, which creates natural synergies with downstream applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Australian companies are already harnessing onshore lithium hydroxide opportunities, with Mineral Resources (MinRes) and IGO producing the refined product from their downstream processing facilities in Kemerton and Kwinana, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kemerton plant sources spodumene concentrate \u2013 a raw lithium material \u2013 from the Greenbushes lithium mine in WA, which is part owned by MinRes\u2019 Kemerton partner, Albemarle Corporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IGO\u2019s Kwinana plant, which it owns in partnership with Tianqi Lithium Corporation, also sources spodumene from Greenbushes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe lithium hydroxide produced from Kemerton and Kwinana is then shipped offshore for further processing before it is upgraded to active materials such as lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) or nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) \u2013 two key cathode inputs for renewable batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut demand for Australia\u2019s upstream products is not solely coming from overseas, with a growing local renewable energy sector seeking more materials than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAustralia\u2019s local demand is skyrocketing,\u201d O\u2019Rourke said. \u201cBloomberg reports that Australia has the largest pipeline of energy storage projects behind China, and a recent Sunwiz report shows that Australia\u2019s behind-the-meter battery storage market is up 55 per cent year on year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Australian Government is funding eight large-scale batteries to be built across the country, storing renewable energy and reducing the reliance on fossil-fuel power generation. Project locations extend from Victoria\u2019s Surf Coast all the way up to Queensland\u2019s tropical north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building independent capabilities is important, but for Australia to effectively harness its battery opportunity, it needs to tackle the matter holistically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBuilding an ecosystem is like trying to solve the chicken-and-egg problem,\u201d O\u2019Rourke said. \u201cA healthy ecosystem needs multiple suppliers, customers and producers, supported by service companies, a flexible workforce, the research sector and government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBuilding that incrementally could take decades, and no other country is taking that approach. Industrial growth is non-linear and needs to be supported by trade and accelerated by domestic support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAustralia is in a good position. It has multiple projects either announced or operating across all elements of the value chain including refining, materials, (and) cell and system manufacturing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\u201cWe have a complete value chain today, including cell manufacturers. The challenge is building out more capacity and scaling up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
FBICRC believes Australia can be competitive all the way from refining to manufacturing, but the country must find its sweet spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe do not need to match China\u2019s scale; rather we need to achieve minimum economic scale,\u201d O\u2019Rourke said. \u201cOur minerals strength, our secure supply and our ESG (environmental, social and governance) credentials help sharpen our competitive edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAustralia has two cell manufacturing projects which meet this minimum scale: Recharge Industries\u2019 30-gigawatt-hour-per-annum project in Avalon (Victoria) and Energy Renaissance 5.3-gigawatt-hour-per-annum project in Tomago (New South Wales).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe NRF (National Reconstruction Fund) and other support mechanisms can help Australia\u2019s lighthouse projects get to scale and develop their supporting industries to build a competitive ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Australian Government introduced the NRF in October 2022, contributing $15 billion to transform several future-facing industries, including renewable energy and downstream opportunities within the resources sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Federal support has also been flowing via the Critical Minerals Development Program, which recently provided close to $50 million in grants for emerging upstream and downstream projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This included $6.5 million of funding for Australian Strategic Materials\u2019 Dubbo rare earths project in NSW, $4.7 million for International Graphite\u2019s \u2018mine-to-market\u2019 graphite strategy in WA, and $4.6 million for IGO\u2019s integrated precursor cathode active material (pCAM) facility in WA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IGO is developing its downstream project in partnership with Andrew Forrest-backed Wyloo Metals,<\/strong> demonstrating the power of collaboration in Australia\u2019s downstream ventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCollaboration is also a key part of FBICRC\u2019s work and underpins its own pilot plant, is exploring the local production of NCM cathode materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is a strong collaborative spirit supporting our cathode precursor production pilot plant facility, where we are currently manufacturing high performance materials to world standard,\u201d O\u2019Rourke said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFour universities and 18 other businesses have come together to build and demonstrate an Australian manufacturing capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key mining industry players such as BHP, Allkem, IGO,<\/strong> Cobalt Blue, Lycopodium and BASF have come together with FBICRC to further Australia\u2019s understanding of the active materials industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAustralia\u2019s battery opportunity is there for all to see, and there are enough developments to suggest that an integrated supply chain could be established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for it to happen, Australia must be firing on all cylinders, with stakeholders right across the battery supply chain working together to make this dream a reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TIMOTHY BOND It has long been a trusted mining partner of countries across the world, but there is urgency for Australia to expand its downstream options as the world decarbonises. Any new industry can present a race to the top, with early adopters best placed to capitalise on new market share and gain a competitive … Continue reading “Australia: A clean-energy superpower?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mines-and-quarry","category-new-tech-new-product"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p83F9T-29P","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8727,"url":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/19\/chinese-premier-lands-at-fortescue\/","url_meta":{"origin":8297,"position":0},"title":"Chinese Premier lands at Fortescue","author":"yinghui","date":"June 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"KELSIE TIBBEN Image: T. 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Fortescue is aiming to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mines and Quarry"","block_context":{"text":"Mines and Quarry","link":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/category\/mines-and-quarry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fortescue decarbonisation","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.australianmining.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/shutterstock_2225610095-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.australianmining.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/shutterstock_2225610095-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.australianmining.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/shutterstock_2225610095-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.australianmining.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/shutterstock_2225610095-1024x576.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7976,"url":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/07\/australia-in-box-seat-for-rare-earths\/","url_meta":{"origin":8297,"position":1},"title":"Australia in box seat for rare earths","author":"yinghui","date":"June 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Australia has well positioned to benefit from the rise of critical minerals, according to the federal government\u2019s Outlook for Selected Critical Minerals Australia 2021 report. Released by the Office of the Chief Economist in the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, the report detailed the prospect for market growth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clients"","block_context":{"text":"Clients","link":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/category\/clients\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1691,"url":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/26\/new-waste-to-energy-cranes-launched-in-australia\/","url_meta":{"origin":8297,"position":2},"title":"New waste to energy cranes launched in Australia","author":"yinghui","date":"July 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"KONECRANES is introducing a broad range of lifting and\u00a0materials handling technologies to Australasia, designed specifically for waste to energy (WtE) and biomass applications. Konecranes' WtE cranes are now available in Australia. The technologies include unmanned full automation, remote operation stations, remote monitoring, and maintenance reporting products. \"Our WtE cranes can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "\u65b0\u6280\u672f\u65b0\u4ea7\u54c1"","block_context":{"text":"\u65b0\u6280\u672f\u65b0\u4ea7\u54c1","link":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/category\/new-tech-new-product\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7973,"url":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/04\/tesla-targets-1bn-investment-in-australian-ev-minerals\/","url_meta":{"origin":8297,"position":3},"title":"Tesla targets $1bn investment in Australian EV minerals","author":"yinghui","date":"June 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Tesla chair Robyn Denholm has declared the company plans to spend more than $1 billion on Australia\u2019s minerals supply to cater for growing electric vehicle (EV) demand. Denholm, who spoke at the Minerals Council of Australia\u2019s minerals week, said each electric vehicle has around $5000 worth of minerals with Australia\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mines and Quarry"","block_context":{"text":"Mines and Quarry","link":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/category\/mines-and-quarry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8789,"url":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/18\/kinder-australia-settling-the-dust-for-cleaner-operations\/","url_meta":{"origin":8297,"position":4},"title":"Kinder Australia: Settling the dust for cleaner operations","author":"yinghui","date":"July 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"WILLIAM ARNOTT Image: Kinder Australia Kinder Australia offers the option for customised solutions as well as its\u00a0DustScrape range to settle the dust for cleaner operations. In enclosed transfer points, the accumulation of pressure can result in the build-up of dust. This dust is problematic for conveyor componentry function, operational site\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clients"","block_context":{"text":"Clients","link":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/category\/clients\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.quarrymagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DustScrape-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.quarrymagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DustScrape-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.quarrymagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DustScrape-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.quarrymagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DustScrape-1024x683.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1340,"url":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/15\/a-100-million-global-first-innovation-precinct-is-coming-to-sydney\/","url_meta":{"origin":8297,"position":5},"title":"A $100 million \u201cglobal first\u201d innovation precinct is coming to Sydney","author":"yinghui","date":"April 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Australia is set to get a \u201cglobal first\u201d $100 million innovation precinct that will foster innovation, support local startups and drive commercialisation. Malcolm Turnbull announced the partnership between the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the University of New South Wales during his first trip to China as prime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Ideas"","block_context":{"text":"New Ideas","link":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/category\/new-ideas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Malcolm-Turnbull-china-640x332","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bnmme.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Malcolm-Turnbull-china-640x332.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bnmme.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Malcolm-Turnbull-china-640x332.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bnmme.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Malcolm-Turnbull-china-640x332.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8298,"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8297\/revisions\/8298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yinghuiinternational.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4bc8fc69686e22de97e7d53f20b3827?s=50&d=mm&r=g\")
TIMOTHY BOND<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"critical](\"https:\/\/www.australianmining.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-13-at-10.55.13-am-1024x317.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"kemerton,](\"https:\/\/www.australianmining.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Screenshot-2023-05-04-at-9.38.33-am.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n