QUT and Cobalt Blue are implementing strategies that aim to enhance Australia’s capacity to produce batteries, which are becoming increasingly important for a wide range of applications, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage.
By working together, QUT and Cobalt Blue are contributing to Australia’s capacity to be at the forefront of this rapidly evolving field.
As part of this ongoing effort, Cobalt Blue's Executive Manager (Andrew Tong) visited the QUT Advanced Battery Facility in Banyo (Brisbane) during the second week of October 2023. The facility boasts a vertically integrated battery value chain, taking raw materials and proceeding through the battery production process - from precursor cathode active material (pCAM), to cathode active material (CAM), to anode, and through to cell assembly and testing.
The site tour was attended by Federal Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic, Minister Anika Wells, and a large array of QUT's industry collaborators from across the national battery sector.
Cobalt Blue's Mine to Market Projects will aid Australian battery material initiatives. It intends to form a crucial component in developing the country's battery material production capability and production of associated constituent materials. The Company plans to build Australia's first cobalt refinery in Kwinana, Western Australia, with offtake arrangements to be finalised during financing negotiations. The project is expected to be capable of delivering battery grade chemicals into an Australian production chain.