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BAtteRY MIneRALs FocUs

Q A Aussies urged to
&

accelerate

Paydirt: Australia is really beginning attracting this kind of investment.
to embrace the idea of creating a ESG compliance and the reduction of
battery industry hub located here. Your carbon footprint by transporting high-
report looked at three existing centres; grade battery chemicals rather than
are we too late to catch up? mineral concentrates also strongly
support the idea of local production
Dr Kirsten Martinus: Massive hubs. According to the FBI-CRC’s Future
increases in demand are predicted for Charge report – demand is predicted to
renewable technologies as nations try increase 9-10-fold over the next decade,
and hit emissionS targets and seek to meaning there is both opportunity and
stimulate economic recovery. Battery urgency for Australia to act.
industries as energy storage systems are
relatively new technologies and there is Paydirt: What inherent values does
currently a rush worldwide to dominate Australia, and Western Australia in
different parts of the battery manufacturing particular, have over others who are
value chain but there is definitely space for striving to establish similar hubs?
Australia to step in and fulfill future global
demands. It has a strong value proposition KM: WA has a large percentage of
and is on the cusp of adding value to the global deposits of battery minerals,
An Australian battery industries its battery minerals with an emerging a workforce with particular expertise in
hub could compete on the technical grade battery chemicals industry mineral extraction and production, as well
international stage but must in Kwinana and Kemerton, WA. as a strong METS sector.
There is also access to an abundance of
make the most of its advantages The locations chosen in the report renewable energy sources to decrease
of mineral endowment and sit at different places in the battery its industrial carbon footprint, and a
manufacturing value chain. Each case
infrastructure while overcoming study site is quite advanced given they highly innovative and technology savvy
the tyranny of distance and the are all built on existing industry strengths. workforce which is used to problem-
policies and incentives in place For example, in Germany there is a long solving issues related to its “remoteness”.
WA and Australia have a strong ESG
across the Northern Hemisphere. history of chemical production and quality compliance record and is globally well
manufacturing; and Japan is based
That was the conclusion drawn from a on strengths in battery production and ranked as an investment location. In a
new report commissioned by the Future advanced manufacturing developed over global industry where many countries
Battery Industries Cooperative Research decades. and companies are looking to secure
Centre (FBI-CRC) which examined Australia, on the other hand, dominates sustainable sources of supply, we have a
existing battery industry hubs in the the mining and mineral processing strong value proposition around abundant
US, Germany and Japan. parts of the value chain. It is already mineral resources, a world-class mining
“The competition to attract key industry seeing investment in several segments industry, technical expertise, a strong and
ethical regulatory framework and existing
players in the batteries manufacturing downstream. hub infrastructure in industrial precincts
industry is global, with locations in Collaboration and colocation can help such as Kwinana, Gladstone, etc.
Europe, USA and Japan offering better facilitate Australia’s competitiveness in
infrastructure, more streamlined
processes, more tax breaks and
incentives than Australia does,” report
authors Dr Kirsten Martinus and Adriana
Nunez-Picado of The University of
WA said in the executive summary.
“If Australia wishes to move further
into downstream production within
this highly competitive, fast-emerging
industry, it needs a coordinated and
strategic approach to accelerate hub
development and streamline industrial
and governance processes for greater
efficiency.”
Paydirt asked Dr Martinus about the
findings of the report.

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