Australia’s federal government has launched a national battery consultation and set out areas where the country can take an international lead.
This includes lithium mining. Vanadium flow batteries present another opportunity for Australia because of its significant vanadium resources and strong research and development (R&D) capacity, the consultation said.
The exercise will feed into the government’s national battery strategy.
Rising lithium prices are now expected to see Australia’s mined exports of lithium alone reach more than A$16 billion (US$11 billion) in 2022–23, the government said in December.
Points from the consultation about Australia:
- The “dominant player” in the mining of battery materials
- Access to significant raw material reserves positions it to realise greater value
- It can help to diversify global supply chains
- Unique climate could present opportunities to research and develop specialist battery applications for hot climates
- A world leader in mining equipment, technology and services.
Industry body the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC) said in response it was committed to delivering evidence-based policy advice to government and a national battery strategy was a key recommendation.
Chief Executive Officer Shannon O’Rourke said: “The progress on the National Battery Strategy to date is a powerful endorsement of Australian know-how and innovation and will allow us to have a global impact on this critical clean-tech industry.”
O’Rourke said in an interview with S&P Global in April that investing in a battery industry would provide an outsized return on investment. “Australia’s federal government expects to spend A$21 billion on critical minerals by 2030, to deliver 100,000 jobs by 2050. Our plan delivers one-third of those jobs 20 years earlier, and for a quarter of the cost. It’s a great investment.”
In July 2021, the FBICRC published a report, Future Charge. Its report painted a conservative picture of the battery industry’s potential A$7.4 billion (US$5 billion) annual contribution and said 34,000 jobs could be created by 2030.
FBICRC Chair Tim Shanahan said in the 2022 annual report that this initial estimate had already been surpassed. Australian lithium exports alone are forecast to exceed A$13.8 billion (US$9.6 billion) by 2023.
FBICRC brings together 70 participants across 15 research projects. It claims to be the largest partnership of industry, government and researchers focused on battery industries in Australia.
Photo: Greenbushes lithium mine, Western Australia. Wikimedia Commons
