The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $7.86 million in funding to Li-S Energy Ltd (Li-S Energy) to help progress the next phase of Australia’s advanced battery manufacturing efforts.
In its statement, ARENA said the funding will allow Li-S Energy to carry out manufacturing optimisation, a feasibility study and front-end engineering design for a proposed lithium-sulfur battery cell manufacturing facility.
The proposed plant is expected to target up to 1 GWh of annual battery cell capacity, significantly above the company’s current manufacturing output in Geelong.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the agency’s support aims to accelerate the development of local battery technology.
“By supporting Li-S Energy’s plans to scale up lithium-sulfur battery production, we are helping to fast-track the commercialisation of breakthrough battery technologies,” Miller said. “Batteries are essential to the clean energy transition, both for energy storage and transport.”
Li-S Energy CEO and managing director Dr Lee Finniear said the funding will help progress the company’s commercial and engineering work.
“This funding enables us to accelerate the critical commercial and engineering studies needed to progress advanced lithium-sulfur batteries toward large-scale production,” Dr Finniear said.
ARENA stated that lithium-sulfur batteries offer the potential for higher energy density compared with conventional lithium-ion systems.
The agency said the funding aligns with the federal government’s energy storage strategy and supports the development of technologies that reduce reliance on imported battery systems.
According to ARENA, the investment was provided through its Advancing Renewables Program, which remains open to projects that expand renewable energy supply or improve the competitiveness of renewable technologies in Australia.
