Australia’s battery industry leaders will gather in Melbourne in September to discuss critical minerals supply chain security, battery safety, skills development and circular economy systems at the Australian Battery Recycling and Manufacturing Summit, according to the Association for the Battery Recycling Industry (ABRI).
Hosted by ABRI, the one-day summit will take place on 17 September 2026 at the RACV City Club in Melbourne, bringing together around 150 representatives from industry, government and research. The event follows three consecutive sold-out summits previously held in Sydney.
According to ABRI, the forum is intended to provide organisations across the battery value chain with opportunities to share knowledge, explore partnerships and discuss practical approaches to industry challenges. Planned discussions will cover critical minerals security, standards development, workforce skills, battery traceability and certification.
ABRI Chief Executive Officer Katharine Hole said decisions being made now would influence the future of Australia’s battery sector.
“The decisions made now will shape how safely and sustainably we collect, recycle and recover critical battery materials into the future,” Hole said.
“This Summit brings the right people into one room to share knowledge, understand policy and market signals, and build the partnerships needed to move from discussion to action.”
ABRI said the battery materials recovery sector currently contributes an estimated $2.1 billion to the Australian economy and supports 19,450 jobs. The summit will examine how coordinated action could help grow the sector to $6.9 billion and more than 34,600 jobs by 2050.
A key session, titled Best Practice & Future Systems, will focus on strengthening battery safety, traceability and circular economy outcomes. Topics will include the development of industry standards, workforce training, battery certification pathways, and systems for tracking and tracing batteries to help reduce risks, including battery fire incidents.
Representatives from Powering Australia, Standards Australia, TAFE Queensland and CSIRO are scheduled to contribute to the session.
Hole said the event would also provide an opportunity for industry and government to align on practical priorities.
“The Summit will provide an important forum for industry and government to align on the practical actions needed to build national capability,” she said.
The program will also feature a keynote presentation by Critical Minerals CRC Chief Executive Officer Neville Plint on trends affecting global and domestic metals and critical minerals markets, a panel discussion on grid-scale batteries and circular economy principles, and technology presentations from Oscorp Energy on AI-powered battery sorting and Renewable Metals on a lithium battery refining process.
