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Lithium-sulphur battery technology company Li-S Energy (ASX: LIS) has been awarded a $7.8 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support development of a new large-scale battery-cell manufacturing facility at Geelong.
The proposed facility is expected to be built in stages, targeting a maximum output of up to 1 GWh (gigawatt-hour) per year of production, which is 500 times Li-S Energy’s existing 2 MWh (megawatt-hour) automated production line in Geelong.
Li-S Energy says the grant, which was secured under the Advancing Renewables Program (ARP), will support a manufacturing optimisation program for the facility, as well as a feasibility study and front-end engineering design.
“The ARP grant enables us to accelerate the critical commercial and engineering studies needed to progress advanced lithium-sulphur batteries toward large-scale production,” says Li-S Energy CEO Dr Lee Finniear.
“This will support growing demand for lightweight batteries in drones, defence, aerospace and other relevant high-value commercial markets.
“In particular, it strengthens domestic supply chains and backs Australian innovation to deliver commercial production right here in Australia.”
Li-S Energy’s breakthrough technology embeds unique nanomaterials, namely Boron Nitride Nanotubes and a new nano-composite called Li-nanomesh, into the cells of its lithium sulphur batteries to enhance their strength, life cycle and performance.
The company says its proprietary lithium-sulphur chemistry and manufacturing processes are now reaching commercial maturity, generating strong interest from partners in the drone, defence, aerospace and marine sectors.
“Over the last year we have signed commercial partnerships with a number of businesses across the drone and defence sectors, including Kea Aerospace, Praetorian and a significant defence prime, and our partner and business development is continuing at pace,” says Li-S Energy.
“Demonstrating the ability to scale production is a key enabler for customer adoption and offtake agreements.”
The company says the high density of Li-S Energy cells is among the most advanced globally.
“Li-S Energy’s recent installation of lithium foil and laminate production capability at its Geelong facility further strengthens domestic supply resilience and reduces reliance on imported materials.”
The ARENA grant will be matched by Li-S Energy, combining cash and non-cash contributions.
The company notes that a substantial manufacturing facility scale-up will require “significant” additional capital to proceed, but Li-S Energy is expecting to engage with strategic and joint-venture partners, while accessing “low-cost capital” from several sources including government and private sector project financing.
Li-S Energy is targeting binding or conditional off-take agreements prior to any material financial commitments being secured to proceed with construction of the Geelong facility.
“With the significant lead times required to stand up a substantial manufacturing facility, it is an essential and prudent strategy for us to develop our manufacturing scale-up pathway in parallel to building our partner and customer pipeline toward future offtake agreements,” says Li-S Energy chairman Ben Spicer.
“A credible, well developed pathway to scale, supported by the federal government, substantially enhances our credibility to engage early and effectively with large customers, strategic partners and financial institutions that seek to deploy project capital, expertise and offtake into strategically relevant advanced battery manufacturing.”
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