Australia’s Federal Minister for Industry and Science opens Li-S Energy battery plant and announces $AUD1.7m industry growth program grant

Australian battery technology company Li-S Energy has officially launched its new 2MWh lithium sulfur and lithium metal battery production facility at Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Li-S Energy will also start producing lithium foils and laminates at the facility after receiving a government grant.

The official opening was hosted by Li-S Energy CEO Dr Lee Finniear, Australia’s Federal Minister for Industry and Science, the Hon. Ed Husic MP, and Federal MP for Corangamite, the Hon. Libby Coker.

During the event, the Minister announced that Li-S Energy had been awarded an Industry Growth Program (IGP) Commercialisation and Growth Grant of $AUD1.7 million to develop Australia’s first lithium foil production facility.

A short video of the visit can be found online.

Li-S Energy is an Australian company, commercialising unique Australian IP from Deakin University for lithium sulfur and lithium metal batteries, which are far lighter than the comparable lithium-ion batteries.

The batteries offer key performance advantages where weight is critical, such as in drones, electric aviation and defence applications.

The new state-of-the-art Li-S Energy pouch cell production facility is the largest in Australia and is installed inside Australia’s largest battery dry room. Built at a cost of over $AUD10 million, the facility spans the entire production process from creating and coating cathode powders to final cell fabrication and testing.

With the support of the Grant, Li-S Energy plans to extend beyond its cell manufacturing capability to produce high-quality lithium foils and laminates from lithium metal ingots.

Lithium metal foil is used as the anode for both lithium sulfur and lithium metal batteries, but the current imported supply has limited quality and is not optimised for Li-S cells.

Beyond using the lithium foil in its batteries, the Company intends to export the foils internationally as an additional revenue stream to capitalise on this growing market.

Dr Lee Finniear, CEO of Li-S Energy, said Australia currently produced 52% of the world’s lithium ore, yet much of this is exported without adding additional value.

“With global demand for lithium metal foil forecast to reach US$51 billion by 2032, Australia has a unique opportunity to capitalise on this emerging market to produce lithium foils here, adding value here before exporting this high-value product to global markets,” he said.