Ed Husic MP cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the Li-S Energy facility with Dr Lee Finniear (left) and Member for Corangamite Libby Coker.
Li-S Energy expands Australia-first battery facility
Mining
share
- Commercialisation plans for breakthrough technology supported by a $1.7 million Industry Growth Program grant
- Li-S Energy will develop Australia’s first lithium foil production facility
- Li-S Energy’s battery cells offer key advantages where weight is critical such as electric aviation drones and defence applications
Special Report: Li-S Energy has taken a major step towards commercialising its unique lithium sulfur and lithium metal batteries which are far lighter than the comparable lithium-ion batteries.
The Company has received a $1.7 million grant to build Australia’s first lithium foil production line, extending the capabilities of its 2MWh pouch cell production facility – the largest of its kind in Australia.
Li-S Energy (ASX:LIS) was selected as one of the first beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s Industry Growth Program (IGP) and the funding was announced by Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic at the official opening of 2MWh battery cell production facility on Friday.
The new state-of-the-art pouch cell production facility in Geelong is installed inside Australia’s largest battery dry room. Built at a cost of over $10 million, the facility spans the entire production process from creating and coating cathode powders to final cell fabrication and testing.
The lithium sulfur batteries offer key performance advantages where weight is critical, such as in electric aviation including drones and defence applications.
Building supply chain opportunities
With the support of the IGP grant, Li-S Energy plans to extend beyond its cell manufacturing capability to produce high-quality lithium foils and laminates from lithium metal ingots.
Lithium metal foil is used as the anode for both lithium sulfur and lithium metal batteries, but current imported supply has limited quality and is not optimised for Li-S cells.
This will be a new sovereign manufacturing capability for Australia, reducing supply chain risk while providing a high value export opportunity.
Beyond using the lithium foil in its own batteries, Li-S Energy intends to export the foils as an additional revenue stream to capitalise on a growing market.
Charging up opportunities
CEO of Li-S Energy Dr Lee Finniear said: “Australia currently produces 52% of the world’s lithium ore, yet much of this is exported without adding additional value.
“With global demand for lithium metal foil forecast to reach US$51 billion by 2032, Australia has a unique opportunity to capitalise on this emerging market to produce lithium foils here, adding value before exporting this high-value product to global markets.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Li-S Energy, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
