Report sets scene to power up Australian battery role

A 'scene-setting' research project designed to investigate the existing battery industry value chain and identify economic opportunities for Australia has released its findings. The Future Battery Industries CRC and Perth USAsia Centre carried out the work, with support from the University of WA and the Minerals Research Institute of WA. It focused on how Australia can enhance its role in the global battery industry by first reviewing the industrial geography of the industry, and identifying the role of mineral and materials production in shaping contemporary value chains. With the majority of the value-add in battery supply chains coming at the mid-stream and down-stream processing stages, these would offer the best returns for the Australian economy, instead of simply maintaining its historic reputation as a reliable exporter of raw or up-stream processed ingredients for manufacturing, FBICRC chief executive officer Stedman Ellis said. Mr Wilson said mid-stream processing was a natural ‘next step’ that could be built upon existing minerals capability. “Australia will also need to take significant steps to decarbonise its operations to be able to label and differentiate itself as a producer of ‘clean’ battery materials," he said. "Internationally, government and business should also actively pursue international partnerships with key industry players, as success in global value chains will not be achieved by working alone.” Perth USAsia Centre Research Director Dr Jeffrey Wilson said there were six minerals which were frequently identified as being the core raw materials required for the battery manufacturing industry – cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel, rare earth minerals and vanadium. “Having a geological endowment of all of these commodities and significant existing production of three of them, Australia is uniquely positioned to capture more value in the mid-stream and down-stream processing of battery materials,” Dr Wilson said. “Securing production and processing of these commodities under Australian ownership is important for Australia’s future energy security as well as that of its strategic allies including the United States and Asian battery manufacturing hubs like South Korea and Japan. "The current concentration at the extraction stage exposes downstream manufacturers to a heightened degree of supply risk.” In all but one of the key battery minerals (nickel), a single dominant producer accounts for between half and three-quarters of all global supply. For lithium this is Australia (58 per cent), and for cobalt it is the Democratic Republic of Congo (61 per cent). China is the dominant producer of three out of the six battery minerals, being graphite (70 per cent), rare earths (80 per cent) and vanadium (56 per cent). The full report is available at https://fbicrc.com.au

Report sets scene to power up Australian battery role

Industry Queensland

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