The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing up to $38.1 million to support a lower-emissions lithium processing demonstration plant in Western Australia, aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing in critical minerals.
The project, led by PLS Group Limited, will trial Calix Limited’s electric-kiln technology to reduce emissions from calcination.
In a news release, ARENA said the process could cut emissions by more than 80 per cent when powered by renewable energy.
To be built at PLS’s Pilgangoora Operation in the Pilbara, the plant is designed to produce about 3,000 tonnes of lithium phosphate annually for use in lithium-ion batteries.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the project supports local capability building. “Australia supplies more than half of the world’s spodumene but refines only a small portion at home. This project is an important step in building Australia’s capability to produce low emissions battery materials onshore and to capture more value from the global transition to clean energy,” he said.
PLS CEO Dale Henderson said the project would help expand domestic processing. “The Mid-Stream Demonstration Plant is an important step toward capturing more processing value onshore while demonstrating lower-carbon methods for producing the lithium battery materials the world needs,” he said.
He added, “This funding highlights the Australian Government’s commitment to backing local innovation with the potential to significantly reduce emissions across the global lithium supply chain.”
This marks ARENA’s second investment in critical energy minerals, a sector incorporated into its 2025 Investment Plan under the low-emissions metals strategic priority.
Further details on the Advancing Renewables Program are available on ARENA’s funding page.
