UK Battery Companies Consider Lithium-Ion Battery Plant in Australia

The "Lithium Valley" south of Perth is set for two new faces after UK lithium-ion battery manufacturer Amte Power and Perth-based infrastructure firm Infranomics signed an agreement to explore the possibility of establishing lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities in the state of Western Australia (WA).

Perth-based infrastructure company Infranomics has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with British battery manufacturer Amte Power to establish the viability of lithium-ion cell manufacturing in Western Australia. Of course, such an eventuality would be a great boost for the Australian energy storage sector.

Kevin Brundish, Chief Executive Officer of Amte Power said that the partnership with Infranomics is an exciting step toward establishing "onshore, end-to-end battery manufacturing capabilities in WA. Amte Power has developed the technology and tools to significantly reduce the time-to-market for lithium-ion cells."

For that reason, the partners of the UK and Australia will team up at Lithium Valley, an industry initiative located in Kwinana which seeks to enable the development of secondary and tertiary processing of lithium and other critical raw materials such as cobalt, vanadium, graphite, and rare earths.

Infranomics founder and director Cameron Edwards said Lithium Valley is the perfect location, as it gives the partners direct access to raw materials, expertise, energy, and a workforce. The goal is to develop a lithium-ion battery facility that can "deliver a sustainable and ethical alternative supply chain for domestic and international customers."

Edwards predicts that the establishment of an advanced manufacturing facility in Lithium Valley will "create a minimum of 250 direct jobs, to the emerging local critical raw materials industry, develop a new manufacturing export market for Australia and support the growth of Amte Power throughout Europe."

For Edwards, the partnership is a marriage between Amte's manufacturing, intellectual property portfolio, and world-leading lithium-ion battery expertise with WA’s blessed energy storage resources and industry. This combo, Edwards believes, "provides the opportunity for an international alternative supply chain which is competitive on price, quality, sustainability, and reliability."

It is no secret that WA has the potential to become the "Saudi Arabia of the world of renewable energy". WA has solar energy, wind energy, and various abundant resources. However, as Tesla recently announced the purchase of 10,000 acres of land in Nevada to mine clay-type lithium mines, it shows that in the energy transition race, the winners will be companies that are well prepared in the value chain.

Although the federal government has been criticized as a "road to nowhere" Technology Investment Roadmap that has caused headaches for the industry, Australia wants to develop the necessary scale of low-cost energy storage and electric vehicles and even become a sustainable energy export giant. The UK battery companies’ lithium-ion battery plant in Perth would be a boost for the industry. The country has to make full use of all its existing resources.

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