Oakland, 31 August 2023 – The Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement today of US$15.5 billion for domestic EV production and workforce development is a welcome signal but questions remain around implementation. Danny Kennedy, CEO of New Energy Nexus, said:

“This announcement shows the USA is finally getting real about onshoring a resilient and clean lithium and EV supply chain. This is a huge opportunity for innovators, with dozens of startups potentially receiving the backing they need to scale up production.

“It’s time we unleash American ingenuity, and support diverse entrepreneurs working to  address critical issues in the clean transition: building a low carbon lithium battery supply chain, with high quality job creation and inclusive economic development at its core.”

Li-Bridge [1], a public-private alliance convened by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and which New Energy Nexus is a core member, released a report in February 2023 – “Building a Robust and Resilient U.S. Lithium Battery Supply Chain” – that included 26 recommendations to boost the domestic lithium battery industry.

According to the report, the U.S. will not achieve complete lithium battery supply chain independence by 2030, but it estimates the country can capture 60% of the economic value consumed by domestic demand for lithium batteries by that year, generating $33 billion in revenues and creating 100,000 jobs.

“Without reliable access to lithium battery technology, the U.S. has no chance of meeting its 2050 net-zero carbon emissions goal or ensuring an inclusive and socially responsible industry.

“The Administration’s statement is vague on details at this stage, but we will want to see strong measures securing high-road jobs, and partnerships with local communities, tribes and labor groups to ensure benefits flow across the country. This should be especially so in Southern California, where abundant lithium can be produced as a byproduct of geothermal power.

“This vision could lead to a profound transformation of the Salton Sea region, moving beyond primary resources to an economic transformation rooted in innovation and value-added enterprises linking lithium mining with the full lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle value chain.

“This could provide good paying jobs in everything from critical minerals refining, to battery components and electric vehicle manufacturing, to battery recycling and reuse activities.”

Notes:

[1]  Announced in October 2021 by DOE and Argonne, Li-Bridge is spearheaded by three industry trade groups — New Energy Nexus, NAATBatt International, and the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BESTTM) Consortium — with active involvement from DOE national labs and Boston Consulting Group.

Luan Atkinson, CEO Renewable Metals

A lithium battery recycler, Renewable Metals, has won the inaugural Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge Award with its unique technology that turns battery waste into battery metals.

During the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge awards event hosted by Dan Ilic at EnergyLab in Sydney, Renewable Metals took out the win with a process that achieves more than 95% recovery of the valuable materials in lithium batteries including lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and graphite, without creating black mass and saving 20-30% of the costs of standard recycling.

Sicona came second, with a University of Wollongong-developed technology to produce next gen battery materials technology used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries for electric-mobility and storage of renewable energy.

Roev, came third – they convert large fleets of utes to electric, solving unmet demand and managing energy usage.

Fourth place getter was Vaulta, who make recyclable and repairable high-performance batteries. Vaulta’s batteries are designed, assembled and tested at their manufacturing facility in Brisbane.

Megan, EnergyLab; Noah, Roev; Danny, New Energy Nexus

Despite producing almost 60% of the world’s lithium, Australia retains less than 1% of the US$400 billion and rising annual product value. As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Lithium has an extraordinary capacity. We need to not just dig it up. I want to make sure we use the lithium and nickel and other products we have to make batteries here.”[1]

Ninety-eight percent of the lithium mined in Australia is refined overseas.

Supercharge Australia aims to support lithium battery innovation in Australia and capture more of the lithium value chain, by encouraging export-oriented lithium battery value chain start-ups.

Supercharge Australia is a project of New Energy Nexus, and our partners, Australia’s largest climate tech start-up accelerator, EnergyLab.

Since 2016 New Energy Nexus has supported 5,268 entrepreneurs globally, created more than 6,000 green jobs and mobilized more than $US1.5 billion in investments.

“Australian innovators are uniquely placed to supply emerging and mature global markets with low impact lithium products and resources to support our energy transition with better batteries,” says Danny Kennedy, CEO New Energy Nexus.

“I’ve seen billion-dollar battery recycling start-ups in the United States emerging in the last few years and none have technology as exciting as this.”

EnergyLab has supported Australian start-ups focused on clean energy and climate tech since 2017, with more than 150 program alumni.

“Supercharge Australia helps ensure Australia’s energy security by supporting the development of the technology needed here for the renewable energy transition,”  EnergyLab CEO Megan Fisher says.

Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge Awards event

“Australia is well positioned to capture the full value of the battery and electrification revolution,” she says.

“Australia can become a leader in lithium battery technology, from sourcing to advanced battery and EV manufacturing, and capture massive market opportunities as the world electrifies. But to do this, we need much more activity across all phases of the lithium battery value chain, and this requires more investment and more start-ups to meet the innovation challenge,” Fisher says.

In a fantastic fundraising announcement saved for the awards night, our first follow-on philanthropic donor, Stephen Pfeiffer, generously pledged AUD$300,000 in core funding to Supercharge Australia to charge up the next phase of work on Australian lithium value chain startups.

In the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge 11 start-ups ranging from developers of novel cell chemistries to electric vehicle up-scalers and critical metals recyclers, were matched with mentors and experts with the aim of bolstering a vibrant national battery ecosystem.

The 11 finalists:

• EV FireSafe for Business, co-founded by firefighters to provide electric vehicle (EV) fire and safety knowledge for everyone working with electrified transport.
• FARSTE DRIVE – Geelong-based, developed a cost-effective hub motor to counter EV motor inefficiency and allow internal combustion engine vehicles to be converted to EVs.
• Gelion – Sydney-based, battery storage innovator developing new lithium-sulfur and lithium-silicon-sulfur technologies to improve battery performance, cost and safety.
• The Good Car Company, founded in Hobart, provides affordable EVs through bulk-buys, direct sales and subscription. They import new and second-hand EVs to help drive a second-hand EV market in Australia.
• Prohelion, founded in Brisbane, designs and sells battery monitoring systems, bespoke lightweight high-power battery solutions, accessories, monitoring and consulting services.
• Renewable Metals, based in Perth, recycles lithium batteries using a novel technology to recover 6 critical metals – lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and graphite – from end-of-life batteries minimising waste by-products.
• Roev, converts large fleets of utes to electric, solving unmet demand and managing energy usage.
• Sicona Battery Technologies uses a University of Wollongong-developed technology to produce next gen battery materials technology used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries for electric-mobility and storage of renewable energy.
• Sustainable Lithium Cells Australia – Brisbane-based, enables lithium battery recycling and reduces the carbon footprint of lithium battery construction and provides a cost-effective supply of good condition second-life cells for use in e-mobility and energy projects.
• Syenta by the Australian National University,  which makes multi-material additive manufacturing devices for electronics such as solar cells, batteries, sensors, and circuit boards with high resolution and high speed.
• Vaulta – Brisbane-based, makes recyclable and repairable high-performance batteries. Vaulta’s batteries are designed, assembled and tested at their manufacturing facility in Brisbane’s inner north.

Shanghai, China, 22 February 2023 – The 2023 Climate Fintech Accelerator hosted by New Energy Nexus (NEX) has officially started recruitment. It is an accelerator dedicated to the climate finance sector, aimed at accelerating fintech innovation by providing support services to startups such as commercial matchmaking, training, and networking.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges the world is facing today. Solving the problem of climate change requires collective action and innovative solutions in multiple areas.

Carbon trading markets have been launched in several countries and regions, and policies requiring ESG disclosure are increasing in many jurisdictions. The connection between finance and climate is becoming increasingly close, and financial technology has also made progress in the areas of climate and sustainable development.

The 2023 Climate FinTech Accelerator Program will focus on two main application scenarios: “Web3 in Sustainability” and “Carbon Accounts”. It will also focus on eight major industry directions: Payments, Banking, Lending, Investing, Trading, Risk analysis, Insurance Technology (Insurtech), Regulatory Technology (Regtech).

The  accelerator will benefit startups in the following ways:

• Opportunities to access global markets and networking: Startups from all over the world can apply for the accelerator. The accelerator hosts different events to build an ecosystem for startups to communicate and network with industry professionals and potential investors.
• Training and development: The accelerator offers various training courses to help entrepreneurs develop leadership skills and industry knowledge.
• Industry support: Startups will receive support services, such as industrial matchmaking, to accelerate their practical application collaboration with industry companies.

We welcome all entrepreneurs who are passionate about decarbonization and climate change, and who have confidence in their technology and products.. We invite applicants to apply for the 2023 Climate Fintech Accelerator and collaborate with other outstanding entrepreneurs: application in English and in Chinese.

There will be a rolling recruitment, with the deadline for the first batch of applications on March 26, 2023. More information about the accelerator can be found in the application package.

Contact for more information:

Austin Lu, Climate Fintech Associate, New Energy Nexus, austin.lu@newenergynexus.com