Lithium-ion battery manufacturer Energy Renaissance has received a $525,072 government grant to develop production processes and workforce skills for its pilot manufacturing facility at Tomago.
The Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre grant will be matched by Energy Renaissance.
The additional funding will enable the company to accelerate the development of scalable process, and procedures from a 2,700 square metre pilot facility.
Battery production is due to commence next month.
Meanwhile, construction has begun on a nearby 4,000 square metre purpose-built facility, which is due to open next February.
"AMGC has played a strategic role by supporting Energy Renaissance with a seed funding round last year that went towards the design and prototyping of our superStorage battery," Technology and Development director Brian Craighead said.
"The new funding injection from AMGC will now help us to scale-up towards commercial production and accelerate our ability to manufacture batteries faster. This is a win for Australia, our economy and workforce as we ascend the stage to become a global battery manufacturing powerhouse."
The battery products being developed will target a range of storage applications, including large scale grid storage, off grid and remote sites, as well as use in electric transport. The company has also partnered with the CSIRO to develop a battery management system suitable for military applications.
AMGC Managing Director Jens Goennemann said Australia currently relied heavily on imported batteries.
"By investing in local manufacturing, upskilling a new workforce for manufacturing and developing an innovative battery solution, Energy Renaissance will showcase how Australia can have a global competitive edge in battery manufacturing," he said.
"This pilot project will validate the sovereign capabilities that Australia has for the manufacturing of energy storage systems and demonstrate a stronger and more integrated Australian supply chain for key battery components and battery management systems that captures a greater share of supply-chain value-adding."
