During the event the Minister announced that Li-S Energy had been awarded an Industry Growth Program (IGP) Commercialisation and Growth Grant of $1.7 million to develop Australia’s first lithium foil production facility.
Li-S Energy is an Australian company, commercialising unique Australian IP from Deakin University for lithium sulfur and lithium metal batteries, which are far lighter than the comparable lithium-ion batteries.
The batteries offer key performance advantages where weight is critical, such as in drones, electric aviation and defence applications.
2MWh Battery Production Facility
The new state-of-the-art Li-S Energy pouch cell production facility in Geelong, Victoria that was officially opened by Minister Husic is the largest of its kind in Australia, 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.
Industry Growth Program Grant – Lithium Foil Production line
With the support of the IGP Grant announced by Minister Husic, 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 and increasing the value of Australia’s advanced battery material exports.
Beyond using the lithium foil in its own batteries, the Company intends to export the foils internationally as an additional revenue stream to capitalise on this growing market.
Dr Lee Finniear, CEO of Li-S Energy 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 here, before exporting this high-value product to global markets.”
“We thank the Minister for officially opening our production facility, and the Australian Government for the IGP Grant to support the development of Australia’s first lithium foil manufacturing capability”.
During his presentation Minister Husic said:
“To the team at Li-S Energy thank you so much for hosting us, for us being able to officially open your facility, and to be able to see the great work that is being done here championing new battery tech that is nation leading.
The big news today is that we are announcing the first batch of grants under our $400M Industry Growth Program. Li-S Energy is one of the recipients for that grant, which will help them continue their important work in developing lightweight batteries that will be really important particularly in aviation and drone technology.
The Albanese Government established the Industry Growth Program to work in conjunction with the NRF to help propel SMEs into a solid growth trajectory, with this important avenue to grow our manufacturing capabilities using the cutting-edge ideas of younger firms.
So, it is terrific to be able to be here and I’d like to emphasise how proud we are of what you and your team are achieving.”
Mark Xavier, CEO of VTOL Aerospace also attended, representing Li-S Energy’s key partners in the Emerging Aviation Technology Partnership (EATP) Pegasus “dawn til dusk drone” program. In discussion with the Minister he said:
“Li-S Energy batteries are a game changer for the aviation and drone industry. By extending the range, flight time and payload of unmanned air systems, it opens up entirely new use cases in surveillance, agricultural monitoring and security. With Li-S Energy batteries we can offer world class performance and deliver a key competitive advantage with our current and future aircraft”.
The company expects to deliver its first cells from the Phase 3 facility for testing under the Pegasus “dawn til dusk drone” development program by the end of September.
Key components of the lithium foil production line are expected to be ordered this calendar year once the IGP Grant Funding is received, and on arrival will be installed in the Li-S Energy dry room in Geelong, Victoria.
* https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/chart-countries-produce-lithium-world/#:~:text=Australia%20alone%20produces%2052%25%20of,mines%20for%20the%20mineral%20spodumene
^https://www.emergenresearch.com/industry-report/lithium-foil-market
