The governance of battery value chains

Full report title – The governance of battery value chains: security, sustainability and Australian policy options

Project completed by Future Battery Industries CRC which receives allocation of MRIWA funds.

The Challenge

Global demand for batteries is rising rapidly, due to technological transformations in the energy, industrial and transport sectors.

Australia is already a major up-stream supplier of battery minerals, and end-user of grid-scale batteries. The challenge is to develop capacity in mid- and down-stream stages of the value chain.

Key Findings

The battery industry offers significant economic opportunities for Australia, with our geological endowments, trusted governance framework and strong international relationships making it an ideal partner for international efforts to develop more resilient battery value chains.

This requires:

• A value-chain informed strategy focusing on building mid-stream capacity through international partnerships.
• Domestic efforts to target Australia’s mid-stream processing industries, where the most attractive opportunities lie.
• International efforts by governments and businesses to actively pursue international trade, investment and technology partnerships with key global players.

Benefit to WA

As the bulk of value-adding occurs in the mid- and down-stream stages, Australia’s economic opportunity lies in leveraging its competitive advantages to ‘move along the value chain’ from a mining to processing role, as a secure and sustainable partner.