Showcasing Western Australia’s role in the global battery supply chain

MRIWA partnered with the Critical Raw Material for Electric Vehicles (CRM4EV) to host a European webinar to showcase Western Australia’s assets and capabilities in the battery supply chain and rare earth minerals.

Western Australia’s geological endowments, trusted governance framework and strong international relationships make it an ideal partner for international efforts to develop more resilient battery value chains.

What most people do not realise is we currently produce nine of the 10 mineral elements required for most lithium-ion battery anodes and cathodes and have commercial reserves of graphite – the remaining element.

Showcasing industry in the webinar were:

1. Matt Dusci, Chief Operating Officer at IGO, a leading ASX-listed multi-commodity producer with a strategic focus on metals critical to clean energy storage and renewable energy.
2. Ken Brindsen, Chief Executive Officer at Pilbara Minerals, the leading ASX-listed pure-play lithium company, owning 100% of the world’s largest, independent hard-rock lithium operation.
3. Gary Frampton, Head of Business Development and Technical Projects at BHP Nickel West, a fully integrated mine-to-market nickel business, who is one of the world’s leading suppliers of nickel products to all sectors of the battery materials supply chain.
4. Kam Leung, Vice President Upstream at Lynas, the only significant producer of separated Rare Earth materials outside of China and its Rare Earths are used in exciting growth industries where sustainability and environmental provenance matter.

All industry speakers talked to the work they were doing to decarbonise their mining operations and ensuring supply of battery minerals and material to support the world’s ambitions to reduce emissions through the use of electric vehicles.

Accelerating global demand presents Western Australia with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transition into a major processing, manufacturing and trading hub. Critical components in advanced battery production — precursor, anode, cathode, electrolyte — can be manufactured in Western Australia.

Championing investment in Western Australia, Chris Clark, and Simone Spencer from the Department of Jobs, Science, Tourism and Innovation (JTSI) promoted the activities of the State Government to position us as a destination for global pre-cursor cathode manufacturing and the support provided via Invest and Trade WA.

Demonstrating how research can bring ambitions to reality was Jacques Erksteen from the Future Battery Industry Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC).

In closing Mike Deeks, Western Australia’s Agent General put out a call to action – if you are in UK/Europe and want to know more about Western Australia – contact him. If you are in Western Australia seeking support in the UK/Europe market – contact him! As Western Australia’s representative in Europe Government Office he is ideally placed to assist.

We look forward to the next opportunity we can showcase Western Australia to the world.