Western Australia to establish cutting-edge lithium battery research hub

Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-10 15:23:32|Editor: xuxin

SYDNEY, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Western Australia is set to establish a cutting-edge research hub with the aim of leading the world in the supply and manufacture of lithium batteries.

Worth 135 million Australian dollars (96.4 million U.S. dollars), the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is led by Curtin University and is comprised of 58 partners from a range of industries.

The federal government announced Wednesday that it would also support the state's project, contributing 25 million Australian dollars (17.9 million U.S. dollars) in funds to the facility.

"The world is transitioning to electricity systems powered by renewable energy and the global use of energy materials is booming, driven by the rising demand for batteries to store this power," Curtin University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Moran said.

"The Future Battery Industries CRC will address the existing gaps in the nation's capacity to respond to this growth industry by creating opportunities to process, manufacture and deploy batteries, delivering an estimated 2.5 billion Australian dollars (1.79 billion U.S. dollars) benefit to the Australian economy over the next 15 years," Moran said.

"This national consortium will also offer evidence-based advice to inform the development of government policies, rules and regulations to help guide the rapid transformation of energy systems driven by the expansion of renewables all over the world," Moran said.

With a six-year plan to identify gaps in the battery industry's value chain, Future Battery Industries CRC Chair Mr. Tim Shanahan said the consortium aims to co-create the tools and technologies needed to ensure that Australia is leading the way in the battery revolution from mining and processing to manufacture and deployment in households, communities and industry, and in the recycling of batteries.

Shanahan said that given Australia's world-class resources sector with abundant levels of battery minerals, there is huge potential for the nation to position itself as a global leader in the international battery value chain.