ARENA’s Battery Breakthrough Initiative

Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has launched the $500 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative (BBI), a central program under the National Battery Strategy and Future Made in Australia agenda to strengthen Australia’s battery manufacturing capability.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller highlighted the importance of energy storage in the organisation’s media release:

“Energy storage is a critical enabling technology for our renewable energy future. We know that solar and wind energy can provide us the lowest cost renewable energy generation at scale, but we also need to be able to store it for when it is needed.”

Funding under BBI will include projects that aim to enhance Australia’s battery manufacturing capability to improve supply chain resilience and support emissions reduction, and commercialise processes and technologies that deliver emissions reduction.

The program will fund projects across three priority areas:

• Active materials – cathodes, anodes and electrolytes
• Battery cell manufacturing
• Battery pack assembly

Powering Australia CEO Shannon O’Rourke welcomed the announcement, saying the program represents a fundamental step in building the nation’s clean energy future. “The BBI offers businesses the chance to scale innovative ideas, build world-class facilities, and create supply-chain resilience for a globally competitive battery manufacturing sector.”

For businesses ready to seize the Battery Breakthrough Initiative opportunity, ARENA will host two online information sessions in September, with applications opening in February 2025.