Company Highlights
- Lithium Australia’s strategic investments in ASX-listed companies and its free-carried exploration interests provide exploration upside and low-risk exposure to raw materials for the battery industry.
- The company’s patented lithium extraction technologies reduce the length of the supply chain from mining of raw materials through battery production to, ultimately, recycling.
- Lithium Australia is one of the few companies outside China that provides direct exposure to the burgeoning LFP industry – and the only investment exposure to LFP on the ASX. Increased global demand for LFP-type lithium-ion batteries (particularly for EVs and battery energy storage systems), lack of LFP production in the West and strong domestic consumption of LFP within China are placing immense pressure on the availability of this battery material worldwide.
- Lithium Australia is also one of the few companies worldwide to master the production of next-generation, higher-energy-output LMFP cathode material.
- As the only licensed mixed-battery recycler in Australia, company subsidiary Envirostream stands to benefit from the imminent Australia-wide battery stewardship scheme, particularly in light of its recent battery-collection agreement with Bunnings.
Overview
Electric vehicle (EV) production is ramping up worldwide. According to the International Energy Agency, the global stock of EVs could reach 245 million units by 2030. Importantly, the EV industry is being touted as critical to the rapidly emerging green economy.
However, the environmental sustainability of the EV industry is not as clear-cut as many believe. In fact, its growth has generated many questions about how end-of-life lithium-ion batteries can be managed in ways consistent with the ethos of the green economy. Given that the volume of spent batteries from EVs and battery energy storage systems will grow sharply over the next decade, the matter is of real concern – it is predicted that the number of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries will exceed that of lead-acid batteries beyond 2040.
Currently in Australia, less than 10 percent of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries are made available for recycling. This has prompted the establishment of a battery stewardship initiative, which provides a strong financial incentive to recycle most types of spent batteries. The initiative, which is set to take effect in early 2022, encourages responsible battery management ... from design right through to end of life. Thus, Australian companies embracing environmentally sustainable lithium-ion battery supply and recycling present investors with an intriguing opportunity as they seek to leverage such financial incentives.
Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) is a diversified battery materials company with strong ESG values. Led by an accomplished management team with decades of experience in the mining, mineral processing and chemical manufacturing industries, the company is committed to developing a sustainable circular economy for battery materials.
An investment in Lithium Australia provides exposure to the exponential growth of the lithium-ion battery industry worldwide and a geographic footprint with the potential to span several countries – Australia, China, the United States, India and the United Kingdom among them. The company has established an ethical, sustainable framework for lithium extraction, processing and recycling that encompasses joint-venture projects, strategic investments and a suite of proprietary technologies – underpinned by intellectual property (IP), including international patents – that creates a sustainable model for battery production.
According to company managing director Adrian Griffin, “Lithium Australia is the only ASX-listed company with a sustainable model for battery materials.”