Diversified battery industries could contribute $7.4 billion annually to Australia’s economy and support 34,700 jobs by 2030, according to a recent report prepared for the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC) by Accenture.
Future Charge: Building Australia’s Battery Industries is a comprehensive assessment of Australia’s economic opportunity to leverage its competitive advantages as a major supplier of battery minerals and expand its role within a growing global industry.
As well as quantifying the value-adding opportunities available to Australia, the report proposes a set of actions that are required from government and industry to capture the battery opportunity.
Over the next 10 years, Australia has an opportunity for real industry growth, shaped by changing international relationships and driven by technological improvements in batteries, increasing demand for energy storage and regulatory changes within the country’s energy systems.
Demand for batteries has grown steadily but is now forecast to accelerate, increasing 9- to 10-fold over the next decade, with sales expected to reach US$133-151 billion by 2030.
Toby Brennan, Director within Accenture’s strategy practice, said: “Our current battery industries contribute an estimated $1.3 billion to our GDP and 6,000 jobs, almost all of which comes from mining raw materials. That will grow substantially over the next decade as demand for our battery minerals grows – but almost twice the economic gains can be achieved if Australia invests in diversifying its battery industries.”
The report identifies six opportunities for Australia to expand its presence across the battery value chain:
- Continue to invest and expand the refining capacity of locally mined materials.
- Establish active materials manufacturing capability to serve the global value chain.
- Establish battery pack manufacturing and assembly capability focusing on specialised use cases.
- Establish cell manufacturing capability to complement battery pack manufacturing and assembly activities.
- Leverage domestic capability in integration and maintenance to export services to the region.
- Create a circular economy for battery material.
The report highlights that taking advantage of the $7.4 billion battery opportunity will require a concerted effort from State and Federal Governments.
It notes that currently, a range of policies to both grow demand for batteries and to support the battery industry exist, however, Australia could benefit from a more unified vision.
One significant government initiative has been the establishment of the FBICRC, which brings together almost 60 industry participants, eight universities, the CSIRO, and State and Federal Governments to ensure Australia plays a leading role in the global battery revolution.
To build on this initiative, the report recommends the Federal Government develop and implement a Battery Industries Development Policy with four objectives;
- Financially viable businesses throughout the value chain have access to capital from a variety of sources.
- Australia has battery industry expertise to support diversified growth.
- Australian-made batteries and battery inputs are in demand, both nationally and globally.
- The battery industries, research organisations and education institutions collaborate to drive growth.
The full Future Charge report can be found here.