PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian Labour leader Anthony Albanese on Thursday made a A$100-million equity commitment for a battery manufacturing precinct in Queensland, as part of his election promise for the May federal election.

Albanese also vowed to create a Powering Australia Industry Growth Centre to provide advanced technology and skills development to businesses looking to locally manufacture renewable energy technologies, and to support 10 0000 new energy apprenticeships, including 2 000 in Queensland.

“Australian Made Batteries should power your house, your business, your school, and eventually maybe even your car. We can shore up our electricity grid with safe, reliable and sustainable energy that’s Australian from top to bottom - and then we can sell those batteries to the world.

“We have a unique opportunity to make Australia a world leader in a future industry that will create good jobs for generations,” Albanese said. 

The battery sector could ad  an estimated 34 700 jobs and a further A$7.4-billion in value to the Australian economy, Albanese pointed out.

“For too long, Australians have wondered why we haven’t manufactured batteries onshore when we have one of the world’s largest deposits of critical minerals and rare earths.

“Labor wants our batteries to be as recognisable as Holden cars once were. Unlike the Liberals, we won’t chase manufacturers offshore, we will rebuild industry capability. We want our allies and our competitors to know that Australia is a renewable energy powerhouse, not just a raw materials supermarket.”

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (Amec) has welcomed Labour’s battery plan, with CEO Warren Pearce saying it was a strong show of support for Australia’s resources and emerging downstream manufacturing capacity, particularly in the battery and critical minerals sector.

“The plan will create more local jobs and diversified economic opportunities by manufacturing batteries onshore. Importantly, the plan will bring together the range of initiatives and business efforts that are already happening in this space.”

The Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC) has also welcomed the A$100-million pledge, with CEO Shannon O’Rourke saying it was an important step in the development of a domestic battery manufacturing capability.

“Today’s announcement is a welcome acknowledgement of the enormous battery opportunity currently facing Australia. 
 

“For too long, our nation has been focused on the export of raw critical minerals, missing the opportunity a manufacturing industry can unlock. We are already the global leader in critical mineral exports and these next steps are well within our reach. Australia is blessed with an abundance of critical minerals which should be viewed not just as a mining opportunity, but a manufacturing opportunity.
 

“By shifting our mindset to invest with purpose and adopt courageous and visionary policies, we have the potential to unlock a significant economic prize of $7.4bn annually and more than 34 700 jobs by 2030,” O’Rourke said.