Li-S Energy gets ARENA funding for Australian battery cell manufacturing
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $7.86 million in funding to Li-S Energy to expand its advanced battery manufacturing capability.
The funding will enable Li-S Energy to undertake manufacturing optimisation, a feasibility study and front-end engineering design (FEED) for a proposed lithium-sulfur battery cell manufacturing facility. The proposed facility aims to produce up to 1 GWh per year of battery cell capacity — 500 times the capacity of Li-S Energy’s current Geelong-based facility.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the project reflects Australia’s commitment to building local manufacturing capability and accelerating innovation in energy storage.
“By supporting Li-S Energy’s plans to scale up lithium-sulfur battery production, we are helping to fast-track the commercialisation of breakthrough battery technologies,” he said. “Batteries are essential to the clean energy transition, both for energy storage and transport. That’s why it’s critical we keep advancing innovations that improve performance, increase energy density and drive down costs.”
Lithium-sulfur batteries have the potential to deliver up to twice the energy density of conventional lithium-ion batteries, enabling longer range and lighter weight for electric vehicles, drones, wearables and other applications.
Li-S Energy CEO and MD Dr Lee Finniear said the funding is a major step towards commercial readiness.
“This funding enables us to accelerate the critical commercial and engineering studies needed to progress advanced lithium-sulfur batteries toward large-scale production,” he said. “It will help meet growing demand for lightweight batteries in drones, defence, aerospace and other relevant high-value commercial markets.”
As more renewable energy generation enters the grid, the need for energy storage is increasing. ARENA says the funding for Li-S Energy reflects ARENA’s strategic priority to reduce the cost and increase the diversity of technologies available to support the deployment of energy storage in Australia.
The funding has been administered under ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program, which is continuously open for applications.
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