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Sydney, 28 September 2022 – Supercharge Australia, a new initiative that aims to develop an ecosystem in Australia to support lithium battery innovation and capture more of the lithium value chain, launches today, backed by Boundless. This follows the recent Clean Energy Demand Initiative between the US and Australia, which aims to unlock to unlock up to $US2.8 billion in funding for Australia’s clean energy sector, and the Australia–United States Net-Zero Technology Acceleration Partnership signed in July 2022.

EnergyLab’s Megan Fisher (left) and NEX’s Danny Kennedy (right). Image: EnergyLab

Supercharge Australia is the first initiative of the recently announced partnership between global clean energy startup accelerator New Energy Nexus, and Australia and New Zealand’s largest climate tech startup accelerator EnergyLab.

Despite producing almost 60% of the world’s lithium, Australia retains less than 1% of the US$200 billion and rising annual product value, with 98% of the lithium mined in Australia being refined overseas.

“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 startups to meet the innovation challenge,” said Kirk McDonald, Project Manager of Supercharge Australia.

Supercharge Australia will bring the industry together to understand where innovation is required and leverage New Energy Nexus’ global expertise, including its role in the US Department of Energy’s Lithium Bridge project to accelerate the development of a robust and secure domestic supply chain for lithium-based batteries. EnergyLab’s Australian cleantech startup ecosystem experience and connections will be applied to establish a lithium battery innovation challenge in early 2023, and to support Australian startups with expansion to international markets. Another critical element is ensuring Australia builds equity into the innovation ecosystem – recruiting diverse entrepreneurs and ensuring benefits flow to impacted communities and those traditionally excluded from the fossil fuel boom of last century.

There are already several startups in the Australian lithium battery value chain that are ready to scale [1].

Kirk McDonald, Project Manager for Supercharge Australia at the Battery GigaFactories APAC conference in Perth, Australia.

Roev is focused on providing energy-smart electric utes to Australia, with fully integrated conversions today and a locally built electric ute in the future. We support the work of Supercharge and see local battery supply as a key driver for sustainable growth in our business and the broader EV industry in Australia,” said Noah Wasmer, CEO of Roev.

“EnergyLab has supported startups focused on clean energy and climate tech since 2017, Supercharge Australia means we can provide support and focus on the startups innovating in the lithium battery value chain. Australia is well positioned to capture the full value of the battery and electrification revolution. If you’re an aspiring founder, a startup, an investor, an expert, an industry player in this space and want to see growth supercharged then get involved,” said Megan Fisher, CEO EnergyLab.

“Supercharge will pave the groundwork for a battery manufacturing industry that Australia is well-placed to develop. An industry that can create quality jobs, income and carbon benefits for Australia,” said Eytan Lenko, CEO of Boundless.

“We call all Australian startups along the lithium battery value chain to massively grow Australia and the world’s most carbon-efficient and cost-effective lithium battery industry. If Australia can produce more throughout the lithium battery value chain, faster, cheaper, better, then that’s good news for the global climate, and Australia’s economy,” said Danny Kennedy, CEO of New Energy Nexus and Managing Director of the California Clean Energy Fund.

Kirk McDonald, Project Manager for Supercharge Australia, joined a panel session on “Aligning critical mineral supply chains with finance and government policy” at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s inaugural Battery Gigafactories Asia-Pacific Conference in Perth today.

Join Supercharge Australia at: energylab.org.au/programs/supercharge-australia

About EnergyLab:

EnergyLab is Australia and New Zealand’s largest climate tech startup accelerator and innovation network dedicated to reaching net zero emissions. With over 140 alumni supported through its programs, EnergyLab connects talented founders to the mentors, advisors, partners, peers and investors they need to succeed. EnergyLab programs include the Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship building the next generation of women founders; the Climate Solutions Accelerator; the Scale Up Program for later stage clean energy startups; and a climate focused angel investor network.

Notes to editor:

[1] Other startups in Australia in the lithium battery value chain include Calix, which has has developed a pilot plant with Pilbara Minerals to decarbonise and increase recovery efficiency of lithium salts from hard-rock ore in the Pilbara; Magnis has begun producing lithium ion battery cells in New York State and seeks to replicate their efforts with a new gigafactory in Townsville; Energy Renaissance is making Australian conditions-optimised lithium batteries in Tomago; Novalith has a novel CO2-based lithium recovery technology and Sicona a world-leading silicon graphite composite anode and polymer binder technology they are taking to the world from Wollongong; Janus Electric seeks to retrofit prime-movers and build large-scale, grid-supporting battery swap stations from their headquarters in Berkeley Vale; Sustainable Lithium Cells Australia refurbishes lithium battery packs in Brisbane removing them from the waste stream and extending their useful life; and Envirostream operates Australia’s first onshore, mixed-battery recycling facility in Laverton North.

It’s a little known fact outside of this part of the world, that Uganda is a hotspot for entrepreneurs. My home of Uganda is brimming with an enterprising community ranked as one of the most entrepreneurial in the world. So as someone working in the climate space for 7 years, I didnt just see the climate talks in Glasgow as an opportunity to tackle climate change, but also as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to help Uganda leapfrog dirty fossil fuels and serve communities across the country with clean energy.

This is particularly urgent for remote and marginalised communities that risk being left behind in the global clean energy transition. In Uganda, only 19% of the country’s rural communities have access to electricity, and less than 2% have access to modern cooking facilities. But rather than rely on highly centralised dirty fossil fuels, there’s an opportunity to transition directly to clean energy.

The nonprofit I work for, New Energy Nexus, helps create new markets for clean energy products in these remote areas – a model that won the Ashden Award for clean energy access at COP26. There are several lessons we’ve learned in the last 5 years that can help scale the clean energy transition.

Firstly, access to funding in rural entrepreneurs is crucial to unlocking innovation.

Uganda’s startup scene is booming, but all too often, the benefits of clean energy don’t make it beyond the nation’s major cities or towns and the reason is often lack of access to stable funding.

For instance, if you look at the local economies in rural communities, most villages are dependent on agriculture and are exposed to its climate change-induced seasonal challenges. So if you run a shop and sell products there, you will have on average about six months of very good income and six months of very low income. And yet there are fixed costs over the whole period: you have to pay the rent and your employees. This is how easier access to funding can help an entrepreneur such as a farmer who may need to access a solar water pump for production during dry spells and rent it out to another farmer for a fee.

However, funding for such initiatives is not easily available for rural farmers or individuals because of the conditions that come with acquiring the fund with the most common one being high interest rates and collateral.

Secondly, increasing uptake of clean energy products depends on a bottom-up approach.

In rural Uganda, community-based organisations (CBOs) provide many essential services – supporting better health, education, sanitation and work for local people. We learned very quickly that these organisations have the networks, trust, and community reputation to bring new technologies, such as solar lights, water filters, briquettes and clean energy cookstoves, to rural villages.

Their vital social role can be leveraged to increase uptake of renewable energy through retail and advocacy. It is these CBOs that understand the buying patterns of their customers by providing credit payment facilities like installments payment, which are most favorable for customers. It is not just CBOs that can drive this change forward.

Uganda, like much of Subsaharan Africa, is home to tens of thousands of village-level nonprofit groups like Farming Groups and SACCOs that are typically self organised and self managed to address gaps in service delivery. Working with such networks is one way an ecosystem can be built and grown from the ground up.

Finally, skills training is as important as technology and hardware.

Providing loans and hardware is only one part of the solution. Developing skills to run a business and maintain the products are an essential – though far less glamorous aspect – of the clean energy transition.

For example, we provided RFCare in the Rwenzori Highlands a US$2,000 loan to support the sale of cookstoves that create less air pollution than traditional models, as well as fuel briquettes and water filters. The loan also helped train young people in cookstove manufacture and repair and so far, the CBO has sold 1,800 stoves.

Entities like RFCare are staffed by passionate young people who are now exposed, more than ever, to the increasing innovation we see around today. If they are equipped with the technical or business expertise of running a clean energy enterprise, they are able to serve growing populations with solutions that fulfill our energy demands.

Tackling climate change in Uganda provides essential lessons on how the continent can scale climate action, while also increasing access to clean energy products. Entrepreneurs are weighting in the wings – they just need the funding and the skills. Local governments and funders must throw their weight behind supporting and scaling small and medium-sized clean energy businesses before it’s too late.

Marvin Tumusiime is the New Energy Nexus Uganda, Abundance Team Manager. This article was first published in Business Daily Africa as an op-ed.

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