Australia needs increased investment in its mineral processing industry to take full advantage of the global energy transition.
A new report from the CSIRO said Australia had a rich critical minerals resource endowment and world-leading capabilities across several mid-stream activities.
CSIRO Futures Minerals lead Max Temminghoff said for the country to become competitive in mid-stream processing, promoting innovation and coordination across industry, research and government, as well as international collaboration, was essential.
Mr Temminghoff said prioritising research, development and demonstration (RD&D) investment would help Australia become a global leader.
“Innovation plays a crucial role in improving existing commercial processes and introducing disruptive technologies to support cost-competitive and sustainable production of materials in Australia that are essential to the energy transition and in high global demand,” he said.
Mr Temminghoff said the report, released today, was the first comprehensive assessment of innovation in critical minerals refining required to build a sovereign mid-stream processing industry in Australia.
He said the demand for energy transition minerals had doubled in the past five years to $480 billion, led by the exponential growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and the continued deployment of solar and wind energy.
“The report provides data on the current capabilities and RD&D and international co-operation opportunities across lithium, cobalt, silicon, rare earth elements and graphite.”
He said it took the guess work out of investment and policy decision-making, by unpacking the processing technology options to make essential materials used in solar PVS and for lithium-ion batteries and rare earth magnets used in electric cars and wind turbines.
“The report contributes to Australia’s efforts to develop beyond mining and shipping to higher value processing and manufacturing using critical minerals.
“(It) presents an optimistic outlook, providing insights into current RD&D capabilities and a pathway forward.”
