The federal government wants to "supercharge" Australia's battery materials and manufacturing sector to enable the production of batteries needed to power today's smartphones and electric vehicles, as it seeks to address China's dominance of supply chains for critical minerals.
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The Prime Minister will announce $243 million in public funds for four projects involved in the supply chain or development of battery materials, including a refinery for nickel-manganese-cobalt battery material and a facility for processing high-grade vanadium in Western Australia, a rare earth separation plant in Northern Territory, and a high-purity alumina production facility in Queensland.
Combined, these four projects will help create over 3400 jobs, Scott Morrison will tell the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a speech on Wednesday.
"We're helping grow the local critical minerals-processing and clean energy industries, and locking in the future of those industries by backing manufacturing projects in Australia," Scott Morrison said in a statement.
The Prime Minister recently announced his government's seven new priority product categories for national-interesting manufacturing, as he continues a manufacturing cash splash in the lead-up the federal budget at the end of this month.
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the projects were designed to address China's 70 to 80 per cent control of global critical minerals production, while also helping power the lives of Australians at home.
"The things we use every day like our smartphones, computers and rechargeable batteries need to be made with critical minerals. They are also needed to make solar panels, electric cars, defence technology and many other high-tech applications," Mr Taylor said.
"These projects are not only game-changers for the local region with the creation of new jobs, they will also open up incredible export opportunities."
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All four projects were required to propose collaboration opportunities. For example, Australian Vanadium will partner with ATCO Australia to increase its use of green hydrogen in its plant and transportation.
Earlier this month the Prime Minister announced supply-chain support would be expanded to include telecommunications equipment, plastics and personal protective equipment, in addition to recent federal grants for the manufacturing of medicines, agricultural production chemicals, water treatment chemicals and semiconductors.
Securing a greater capacity for Australian industry in critical supply chains was a necessary response to rising geopolitical tensions, the government has argued as it increases funding announcements to manufacturing projects ahead of the federal budget later this month.
Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
