Arena backs Australian factory featuring “breakthrough” in battery storage powders

A Queensland company with a potentially “breakthrough” technology for a key component of electric vehicle and grid based batteries has been awarded a $30 million to build a demonstration factory in Australia.

VSPC, a subsidiary of listed company Livium, says it has developed a new way of making lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) and lithium manganese ferro phosphate (LMFP) powders, which it says means they can be used in different battery cell technologies.  

With LFP technology rapidly catching up with NMC (nickel manganese cobalt), Livium managing director and CEO Simon Linge hopes the grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency opens the way for private capital to flow into the project. 

The funding from Arena will cover half of the cost of the demonstration factory build – likely to be in Brisbane – but is conditional on Livium securing the other 50 per cent from other investors. It will have the capacity to make 250 tonnes of cathode powder annually, enough to supply 12,500 household batteries or 1,600 EV batteries.

According to Arena, the VSPC grant will mean a boost for local jobs. It says the company will quadruple its current number of staff. According to a Livium ASX announcement in January, the company had intended to cut 25 per cent of its staff by June. 

Arena invests in battery supply chain tech

“This project represents a potential breakthrough in cathode powder technology. If the project is successful, it could help catalyse competitive manufacturing of cathode powders and help diversify supply chains,” Arena CEO Darren Miller said in a statement of the new investment.

“As global demand for energy storage rises, domestic advancements in cathode powder could position Australia as a leader in advanced battery manufacturing,” he said. 

“[It will give] us opportunities to contribute to global supply chains and create new economic opportunities in renewable energy innovations.”

It’s the second investment by the federal renewable energy funder into battery supply chain manufacturing.

The first was $4 million to AnteoTech last year to help the company’s $11.1 million, three-year plan to commercialise its silicon anode technology.

Emerging battery supply chains

The grant is part of the federal Future Made in Australia plan which includes battery supply chains.

The National Battery Strategy was released last year aims to take Australia from nothing to a globally competitive producer of batteries and battery materials by as early as 2035. 

That covers everything from investing in companies mining battery precursor metals to parts manufacturers, and battery makers such as Li-S which used $1.7 million in federal funding to build the next stage of its Geelong factory. 

“We’ve got world-leading battery know-how and deep reserves of critical minerals needed for battery-making,” Science and industry minister Ed Husic said in a statement.

“Combining those strengths to create a thriving manufacturing industry is important for our economic future and that is what this investment is about. Jobs up, emissions down and Australian know-how at the forefront of a growing global market.”

Brisbane hotbed of battery companies

The company is also not the only battery manufacturer to emerge from Brisbane.

This year PowerCap started selling its new sodium battery to international customers, while battery materials and technology company Novonix raised $41.2 million via a share purchase plan (SPP), although those monies were for its Tennessee operations.

Last year Brisbane-based iron flow battery manufacturer Energy Storage Industries secured $65 million from the state Labor government to build Australia’s first manufacturing plant for grid-scale batteries, but flow battery company Redflow was put into administration.