Australian Energy Storage Joint Venture & Confirmation of Plans to Build and Fund a 200,000 cell micro production line in Australia’s Lithium Valley
InfraNomics Technologies Pty Ltd (“InfraNomics”), a developer and investor into energy transformation technologies and services, is pleased to announce a joint venture agreement with AMTE Power plc (“AMTE”) a developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells for specialist markets and advanced plans to build a 200,000 cell micro production line in Australia’s Lithium Valley.
The 50:50 joint venture will operate through Bardan Cells Ltd (“Bardan”), based in Kwinana, Western Australia. InfraNomics is responsible for capital fund raising, providing local expertise, establishing local sovereign supply chains and supporting the development of Bardan. AMTE Power will provide Bardan with the licenced technology, manufacturing expertise to build cells for use in premium energy storage systems.
In 2018, AMTE and InfraNomics, recognised the commercial opportunity to become a leader in Australia’s battery cell manufacturing sector to meet increasing domestic and export demand. Following a meeting in Hanover, Germany with Mike Deeks (Agent General for Western Australia) and Colleen Yates (CEO Regional Development Australia – Perth), AMTE and InfraNomics commenced a collaboration that resulted in the formalisation of the joint venture announced today.
The joint venture marks the transition from feasibility study and detailed business plan to the construction of a micro production line. Bardan’s objectives are:
· To ultimately build a Gigafactory to manufacture Lithium-ion battery cells capable of producing between 1-2GWh per annum for use in energy storage systems in Australia
· The business will operate from the “Lithium Valley” Kwinana Industrial Area, a major industrial area and a centre for Lithium related products, raw materials and local technical expertise.
· As a forerunner to the Gigafactory, a 200,000 battery cell micro production line will be built, to refine the manufacturing processes from AMTE’s Thurso plant, implement new technologies and develop local sovereign supply chains.
· Following a formal Expression of Interest process, the Kwinana Industrial Area south of Perth was identified as the preferred location for the micro factory and potentially the Gigafactory.
· Bardan is proud to offer local and international customers robust, safe, premium performance products, developed using the most advanced manufacturing techniques available worldwide, for use in long term Net Zero Carbon power storage solutions.
Kevin Brundish, Chief Executive Officer of AMTE Power, said:
“The more our cells are in production, whether that be in the UK or Australia, the more the commercial appeal of our portfolio of cells. Bardan is attractive as a stand alone investment proposition for us, given the anticipated demand in Australia for energy storage solutions, but at the same time, Bardan is attractive as a further test platform for our technologies and will be particularly useful additional experience and proof to investors and customers of our capabilities as we pursue the development of our UK based Gigafactory. For Bardan, there is no doubt the combination of our licensed technology and knowledge of battery cell manufacturing at scale is an excellent fit with InfraNomics’ capital raising capabilities, local market and supply chain knowledge. We believe Bardan can play a significant role in Australia’s future cell production supply line.”
Cameron Edwards, Director and Founder at InfraNomics commented,
“The relationship with AMTE provides Bardan and its customers the advanced technological expertise required to make world-class products suitable for extreme environments. The global transformation of energy is one of the largest growth markets in the world and we are delighted to be playing a role in reshoring manufacturing in the Australian energy sector and creating an essential piece in the critical raw materials value chain.”
Chris Oughton, Director of Kwinana Industries Council commented,
“Bardan Cells will be a welcomed addition to the suite of battery materials on the way to being manufactured right here in Kwinana. ‘Lithium Valley’ is happening now, and Bardan being a part of this simply makes good business sense. It’s actually a clever decision to co-locate amongst the companies that will be able to supply the inputs, and the renewable energy that will be required for it to gain the ‘green’ credentials their Australian and international customers will be requiring. What a great outcome –now we will have mine site to final product! Who said Western Australia couldn’t go far into the downstream manufacturing?”
For further information contact:
InfraNomics
Cameron Edwards (Director)
Tel: +61 43 4714 377
Lithium Valley
Colleen Yates (Chair)
Tel: +61 407 236 121
Kwinana Industrial Council
Chris Oughton (Director)
Tel: +61 488 012 379
ABOUT INFRANOMICS
InfraNomics is a specialist infrastructure developer, advisor and financier and is a founding member of Lithium Valley and the Australian Microgrid Centre of Excellence. InfraNomics’ focus is integrating emerging technologies and materials focusing on energy transformation, zero carbon supply chains & a circular economy. For more information see www.infranomics.com.au