Li-S Energy Launches Australia’s Largest Lithium Battery Production Facility
Li-S Energy, an Australian battery technology company, has inaugurated its new 2MWh lithium sulfur and lithium metal battery production facility in Geelong, Victoria. The facility, Australia's largest pouch cell production line, will also manufacture lithium foils and laminates, following a government grant to support its development.
The official launch was attended by Dr. Lee Finniear, CEO of Li-S Energy, along with Australia's Federal Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic MP, and Federal MP for Corangamite, Libby Coker. Minister Husic announced a $1.7 million Industry Growth Program Commercialisation and Growth Grant to aid in establishing Australia's first lithium foil production facility.
The state-of-the-art facility in Geelong, constructed at a cost exceeding $10 million, includes the largest battery dry room in Australia. It covers the full production spectrum, from creating and coating cathode powders to final cell fabrication and testing.
Li-S Energy is focused on commercializing innovative technology from Deakin University, emphasizing lithium sulfur and lithium metal batteries known for their lighter weight compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. These batteries offer significant advantages in applications where weight is crucial, such as drones, electric aviation, and defense.
With the support of the grant, Li-S Energy aims to expand its capabilities to produce high-quality lithium foils and laminates from lithium metal ingots. Currently, imported lithium metal foil supplies are not optimized for Li-S cells, which presents an opportunity for local production.
Beyond integrating these foils into its battery products, Li-S Energy plans to export them, creating an additional revenue stream to tap into the growing global market. CEO Dr. Lee Finniear highlighted that while Australia produces 52% of the world’s lithium ore, much of it is exported without further value addition.
“With global demand for lithium metal foil forecast to reach $51 billion by 2032, Australia has a unique opportunity to capitalize on this emerging market by producing lithium foils locally, thus adding value before exporting this high-value product globally,” Dr. Finniear stated.
