The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) confirmed last week (11 September) that the AUS$523 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative has opened a consultation into the scheme.
The Battery Breakthrough Initiative announced in the 2024-25 Federal Budget in May, aims to fund projects to enhance Australia’s battery manufacturing capability. This initiative seeks to improve supply chain resilience and create opportunities for Australia’s economy and workforce during the transition to renewable energy.
Launched by the Australian government and administered by ARENA, the programme will initially focus on producing active materials, battery cell manufacturing, and battery pack assembly. Through the consultation, ARENA is seeking feedback on market readiness and the programme’s design.
The draft programme design proposes that funding could be provided through production-linked payments or capital grants, depending on the project’s requirements.
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Submissions for the consultation are due by 7 October 2024. ARENA aims to launch the programme by late 2024 or early 2025. It is aligned with the Economic Resilience and Security stream of the Future Made in Australia (FMA) policy agenda.
The initiative is one of the central pillars of the broader National Battery Strategy, mapping Australia’s journey towards becoming a “globally competitive producer” of batteries and battery materials by 2035.
As reported by Energy-Storage.news in May 2024 that the strategy includes over half a billion Australian dollars in funding to promote battery manufacturing opportunities and just over AU$20 million (US$13.33 million) for R&D and workforce training.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said batteries are a crucial enabler of Australia’s emissions reduction goals and will complement Australia’s abundance of variable renewable energy generation via wind and solar PV.
“Energy storage technology is critical for our renewable energy future. We know that solar and wind energy can provide us the lowest cost renewable energy at scale, but we also need to be able to store it for when it is needed,” Miller said.
“The Battery Breakthrough Initiative will aim to commercialise battery manufacturing technology and processes, provide clean energy opportunities for Australia’s workforce and allow Australia to leverage its expertise in energy storage.” We want to work with industry to identify opportunities to supercharge Australia’s battery manufacturing sector.”
ARENA continues support of Australia’s energy storage sector
ARENA has supported energy storage in the Australian market via several initiatives. One such initiative is the Community Battery Funding Rounds, which recently allocated AU$143 million to support the technology nationwide.
370 community batteries will be rolled out across Australia as part of the scheme, which is expected to benefit all states and the Northern Territory. ARENA anticipates the initiative will unlock around AU$359 million of investment in renewable energy infrastructure.
Once connected to the grid, the batteries aim to alleviate local network constraints, increase rooftop solar PV capacity, reduce emissions, and lower consumers’ electricity costs.
