Geelong, Australia – Deputy Prime Minister, Hon Richard Marles MP, the Hon Ed Husic MP, Minister for Industry and Science and Libby Coker MP, Member for Corangamite today visited the site for the proposed Recharge Industries™ Australian Gigafactory (“the Project”) at the Avalon Airport Industrial Precinct.
The parliamentarians, along with representatives of project partners, the Australian Workers Union (AWU), the Avalon Airport Authority and Jacobs, toured the proposed site of the 30GWh lithium-ion Gigafactory.
Once built, the Project would create an estimated 2550 highly skilled direct local jobs, generate revenue and growth for Victoria and Australia, and support the country’s storage needs as it transitions to a green energy future.
During the visit, the group received a project briefing on the nationally significant Avalon Gigafactory, outlining its regional and national benefits and the transformative opportunity it offers to develop a national battery ecosystem, in line with the Government’s commitments to Australian-made solutions to energy and emissions challenges.
Investment in renewable energy sources is driving demand globally for batteries, with global battery demand forecast to grow at 34 per cent per annum to 2030, increasing 18-fold on 2020 levels (Future Battery Industries CRC, Charging Ahead Report, March 2023). Australia is in a key position to establish a thriving battery industry, with abundant minerals onshore and the capacity for thriving manufacturing and recycling industries. Harnessing this unique position, Australia can be on top of this international opportunity and support domestic resilience by producing battery cells onshore.
Recharge Industries™ CEO, Rob Fitzpatrick, said: “Globally, the energy landscape is shifting rapidly, with government subsidies for battery cell manufacturing transforming the industry. The Ministers’ visit to the Recharge Australia™ Avalon Gigafactory site signals a recognition that sovereign battery cells manufacturing capabilities are critical in order to meet Australia’s net zero ambitions.
“Recharge Industries™ implores Australian governments to firm up their commitment to renewable energy generation and support the large-scale manufacture and deployment of battery energy storage in order to meet the 2030 target requirement of 82 per cent renewable energy.
“There is a massive opportunity for Australia to not only produce battery cells but, in parallel, build out a domestic value-added supply chain addressing the long-held concerns about Australia being a "dig and ship" economy.
“Recharge Industries™ thanks the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Industry and Science and the Member for Corangamite for their attendance at the Avalon Gigafactory and looks forward to their ongoing support of the Project as it seeks to play a leading role in Australia's transition to a green energy future and capture the value of mobilizing a sovereign supply chain for Victoria and the nation,” concluded Fitzpatrick.
The Avalon Gigafactory will be a complementary facility to a 30GWh lithium-ion battery cell Gigafactory at Cambois, United Kingdom that has the potential to expand up to 48GWh.
Press images available here: https://f.io/GsL5t5pl
Recharge Industries VNR™ available here: https://f.io/oHO_duUJ
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About Recharge Industries™
Recharge Industries™ is establishing a large-scale lithium-ion battery cell production and research capability in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other friendly nations. Using leading artificial intelligence (AI) and multinational research partnerships, Recharge Industries™ is finding ways to make batteries better, safer, and longer lasting. Recharge Industries™ is powering the transition to a low-emissions future.
For more information on Recharge Industries™, please visit www.rechargeindustries.com or connect with Recharge Industries™ on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Scale Facilitation®
With its Global Headquarters in Manhattan and its Global Innovation Center in Geelong, Australia, Scale Facilitation® is committed to AUKUS and working to bring together research, advanced manufacturing, capital, supply chains and talent.
Scale Facilitation® is an investment firm with a novel approach to de-risking projects by empowering innovators to maintain focus on their craft and facilitating the many critical services and capabilities required to deliver large-scale advanced manufacturing and innovation projects. Scale Facilitation® removes the many barriers to commercialization for innovators by giving access to the right strategic partners and collaborators who will adopt and scale their inventions.
For more information on Scale Facilitation®, please visit www.scalefacilitation.com or connect with Scale Facilitation® on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
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