Energy Renaissance announces start of construction for Australia's first lithium-ion battery factory
Australia will soon be producing lithium-ion batteries onshore, thanks to start-up Energy Renaissance. With funding raised exclusively from private investors, Energy Renaissance has committed to manufacturing batteries at a site in Tomago, NSW, only a few kilometres from the Port of Newcastle.
Energy Renaissance’s 4,500 sqm purpose-built facility will manufacture Australian made batteries that are, according to the company “safe, secure, affordable and optimised to perform in hot climates.” Energy Renaissance will be manufacturing energy storage systems for the transport industry including busses and light commercial vehicles, as well as batteries for grid-scale, mining industry and community storage uses.
Energy Renaissance will have an initial battery production capacity of 48MWh per year and the capacity to expand to 180MWh per year in 2022. Energy Renaissance’s long-term plans are to develop a 1GWh battery manufacturing facility, and potentially grow to 5.3GWh over the next decade.
Construction of the facility will commence in April 2021 with a small-scale production trial run of batteries to start by July 2021, ramping up to full-scale production in October 2021.
CIS Solutions recently undertook an independent economic impact analysis, and concluded that an Australian advanced manufacturing industry supplying and exporting battery-grade chemicals and materials would create over 100,000 construction and 80,000 operational jobs and add AUD$7.3 trillion in export revenue. (Note that we haven’t been able to find a link to this study online)
There has been a dramatic decline in appetite for Australian iron ore and coal both domestically and internationally, and the Australian Government has been rather slow in realising that lithium—a metal found in abundance in Australia—has the potential to not only generate serious export dollars as global demand for batteries rises over the next decade, but to also shore up skilled manufacturing jobs locally, assisting the transition and retraining of mining sector workers.
Energy Renaissance is perfectly placed to take advantage of this; it’s investment to process raw materials locally in a region already known for mining means that the company should have a captive employment market available, as well as access to global markets via the nearby port.
With the New South Wales committing to purchase over 8,000 electric buses, this should present a great opportunity for Energy Renaissance to find local customers.
The government’s Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews and the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison were also present at Energy Renaissance’s manufacturing facility launch, and were keen to jump in with their own announcement, releasing the Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing road map in the Commonwealth Government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy.
The Strategy has the following goals:
2 years: Improved capability to bring products quickly to market, through improved market development activities and investment made in critical enablers.
5 years: Foster increased collaboration with relevant sectors and international supply chains, increase exports and grow private sector investment.
10 years: Australia seen as a regional hub for resources technology and critical minerals processing, with significant R&D advancements, retention in intellectual capital for SMEs and significant volume and value of exports.
We’ll keep you updated as Energy Renaissance’s facility comes together.
Read more about the government’s strategy here: https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/resources-technology-and-critical-minerals-processing-national-manufacturing-priority-road-map