Featuring insight from prominent experts in the critical minerals industry, this eBook provides a comprehensive discussion of Australia’s position in the global lithium supply chain.
As batteries continue to gain worldwide importance due to their crucial role in the transition to green energy, this new clean era is ushering in the opportunity for countries to capitalise on their natural resources. With abundant reserves of many battery metals, including lithium, silicon, and rare earths, Australia has the potential to become a leader in the battery industry. Over the next three decades, however, demand for low-emissions technologies is expected to drastically increase, leading to an increased demand for critical minerals. To keep up with this rising demand, Australia must continue to build secure and competitive critical mineral and lithium supply chains.
This eBook, featuring insightful discussion from key experts and players in the critical minerals sector, will highlight Australia’s competitive advantage in the global lithium supply chain, and outline the key next steps in how the country will cement itself as a critical minerals giant on the world’s stage.
Australia can grow into a lithium-producing superpower
Lithium is one of the most coveted battery metals, namely due to its use in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. Already producing almost half of the world’s lithium, Australia can leverage its advantageous position in the global lithium supply chain to create new opportunities for its citizens and create renewable technologies to help achieve both its own net zero targets and those around the globe.
Amongst those aiming to help Australia with this endeavour is Lithium Power International, which has lithium exploration projects across Australia’s most sought-after regions. In this eBook, LPI outlines how value adding is rising in importance for the company and other lithium exploration companies operating in Australia.
Also focusing on Australia’s dominance of the world’s lithium production are Associate Professor Carl Spandler and Dr Jarred Lloyd of the University of Adelaide. In this eBook, they explore how Australia’s industry can keep up with the rising global demand for the commodity.
Building on this, Olimpia Pilch, Strategic Officer at the Critical Minerals Association Australia, further outlines the essential steps that Australia must take to realise its potential as a lithium-producing superpower. Elsewhere, the Critical Minerals Consortium captures the importance of the downstream stages of the global lithium supply chain.
The importance of other battery metals for lithium-ion battery production
With Australia’s natural abundance of a variety of battery metals, it is important that exploration for renewable critical minerals grows to support the clean energy sector. Australian-based Queensland Pacific Metals is pushing for sustainable battery production and aims to do this by re-energising the nickel industry. Nickel has fast become a vital component of lithium-ion batteries, and the metal’s use in electric vehicle batteries is expected to soon be its second largest end-use market.
In this eBook, QPM explains how they are producing ethically derived nickel to support the production of lithium-ion batteries through its novel TECH Project.
Australia is already a leading producer of battery metals, and has the opportunity to leverage its position to move further downstream. With governmental and industry support, Australia’s critical minerals sector can capitalise on the global boom in demand for renewables, ultimately positioning itself as a clean energy superpower.
