Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is acquiring a 40% interest in the Rhodes Ridge iron ore project in Australia (RRJV). (Earlier post.) The acquisition is composed of the two transactions stated below, with the total acquisition price for both transactions of US$5,342 million (approximately 800 billion JPY). A definitive sale and... Read more →

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has launched a new research and development (R&D) grant opportunity to accelerate the growth of the domestic battery industry and open up export opportunities, especially in the United States of America. Under the grant opportunity, successful mining and manufacturing small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) will be offered... Read more →

Japanese energy company ENEOS is building a A$200-million green hydrogen demonstration plant in Brisbane, Queensland. The plant will produce up to 680 kilograms of green hydrogen per day from 2026. The green hydrogen will be in the form of methylcyclohexane (MCH). MCH can be transported at room temperature and normal... Read more →

The Australian government is investing a record $2 billion in the Australian-made aluminum industry. A new Green Aluminum Production Credit will provide targeted support to Australian aluminum smelters switching to reliable, renewable electricity before 2036. Under the initiative, facilities will be eligible for support for their production over a 10-year... Read more →

A new report from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has projected Australia’s hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing (HEM) sector could generate $1.7 billion in revenue and create nearly 4000 jobs by 2050. The Hydrogen Electrolyser Manufacturing report highlighted a significant opportunity in manufacturing devices that generate hydrogen from water using electricity, positioning... Read more →

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has successfully trialed its hydrogen production technology at BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks in New South Wales, demonstrating affordable and renewable hydrogen can be generated at scale to help decarbonize heavy industry. CSIRO’s tubular solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) technology has clocked 1000 hours of successful operation... Read more →

PowerCell Group has signed an agreement with an Australian aviation company for a concept study for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with minimal emissions. The study includes an order of SEK 7 million (US$680,000) of engineering work for the specification; the customer aims to build prototypes that will... Read more →

Rio Tinto will develop Pongamia seed farms in Australia as part of a new biofuels pilot. The project will explore the potential of Pongamia seed oil as a feedstock for renewable diesel. The pilot aims to determine if Pongamia seed oil can contribute to Rio Tinto’s renewable diesel needs while... Read more →

Fortescue has started works at its Green Metal Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA). Located at the Green Energy Hub at Christmas Creek, the US$50-million project is expected to produce more than 1,500 tonnes per annum of green metal, with first production anticipated in 2025. The plant... Read more →

Fabrum, a New Zealand company, has collaborated on the design, build and commissioning of Australia’s largest liquid hydrogen plant at a mine site with and for Fortescue, a global green technology, energy and metals company headquartered in Western Australia. The liquid hydrogen plant at Christmas Creek comprises a hydrogen liquefaction... Read more →

Rio Tinto marked the shipment of 4 billion tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara in Western Australia to China. The shipment was loaded at Dampier Port on 19 July, bound for China Baowu Steel Group, the world’s top steel producer. This milestone comes 51 years after the first shipment... Read more →

Pilbara Minerals recently released the outcomes of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) which determined that production capacity at the company’s 100% owned Pilgangoora Operation could be expanded to more than 2.0 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). The Pilgangoora ore body is one of the largest hard-rock lithium deposits in the world... Read more →

Rio Tinto and BHP will collaborate on the testing of large battery-electric haul truck technology in the Pilbara, Western Australia, to accelerate the potential for its future deployment. The two companies will work with manufacturers Caterpillar and Komatsu to conduct independent trials of their battery-electric haul trucks, including testing of... Read more →

Plug Power signed a Basic Engineering and Design Package (BEDP) with Allied Green Ammonia (AGA), an Australian company focused on green ammonia production, for a three-gigawatt (GW) electrolyzer plant supplying hydrogen to AGA’s planned ammonia facility proposed for the Northern Territory of Australia. Plug’s BEDP offering is instrumental for project... Read more →

Australia-based Hysata has closed a US$111-million B round with strong backing from existing major strategic and financial global investors. The company said that the investment demonstrates global recognition for its high efficiency electrolyzer (95% system efficiency, 41.5 kWh/kg incl BoP) with intrinsically low capex and a capital efficient path to... Read more →

Plug Power signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Allied Green Ammonia (AGA), an Australian company focused on green ammonia production, to supply up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of Plug electrolyzer capacity for AGA’s upcoming hydrogen-to-ammonia facility proposed for the Northern Territory of Australia. Following the MOU, Plug and AGA... Read more →

Australian Strategic Materials announced that it received a non-binding and conditional Letter of Interest (LoI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) to provide a debt funding package of up to US$600 million for the construction and execution phase of the rare earths and critical minerals Dubbo... Read more →

Australia-based Arafura Rare Earths Limited secured conditional Commonwealth Government approval for a debt financing package of US$533 million to progress the Nolans Project in the Northern Territory. Arafura’s Nolans Project is a rare earth ore to oxide mine and processing facility. The Nolans Project will encompass a mine, process plant... Read more →

Black & Veatch, a global leader in critical infrastructure solutions, will study the exploration and extraction of natural hydrogen and helium in Australia. The development study is an engineering services agreement between Australian-owned natural hydrogen company H2EX Limited and Black & Veatch. The study is part of an Australian Federal... Read more →

Santos has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with one of South Australia’s biggest commercial industrial gas users, Liberty Primary Metals Australia Pty Ltd (part of GFG Alliance), to enter into discussions for gas supply combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities to support the green steel transformation of... Read more →

Rio Tinto has signed Australia’s largest renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) to date to supply its Gladstone operations in Queensland, agreeing to buy the majority of electricity from Windlab’s planned 1.4GW Bungaban wind energy project. The agreement, which follows the announcement last month of a PPA for the Upper Calliope... Read more →

Rio Tinto has approved a $77-million pre-feasibility study (PFS) to progress development of the Rhodes Ridge project, one of the world’s best undeveloped iron ore deposits, in the East Pilbara in Western Australia. Location of Rhodes Ridge in Western Australia. The commencement of a PFS follows completion of an Order... Read more →

Australia has a unique billion-dollar opportunity to create a new industry to support mine closures and transitions, generating employment opportunities for regional and Indigenous communities, according to a new report developed by the national science agency, CSIRO. New insights drawn from mining industry databases and CSIRO analysis project an annual... Read more →

Rio Tinto has approved a new 12.4MW solar farm and 8.8MVa/2.1MWh of battery storage to provide renewable energy for the Amrun bauxite operations near Weipa in Queensland, Australia. The 12.4MW solar farm and battery storage are part of Rio Tinto’s global decarbonization strategy and ongoing efforts to reduce emissions at... Read more →

Topsoe has signed a contract with Allied, a developer of energy infrastructure projects, to deliver its dynamic green ammonia technology for Allied’s project in Gove, Northern Territory, Australia. The produced green ammonia is intended to be exported from Gove to the expanding South East Asian markets where demand for e-fuels... Read more →

SunGas Renewables announced it has been selected by Australian green hydrogen and methanol project developer, ABEL Energy, to supply green methanol for a new $1.4-billion facility in Northern Tasmania, Australia. Johnson Matthey, a leading methanol synthesis technology and catalyst supplier, was also selected to supply key technologies for the project.... Read more →

In late October, the Albanese Government in Australia announced a A$2 billion (US$1.3 billion) expansion in critical minerals financing to solidify Australia’s position as a world leading provider, help the transition to net zero, boost the economy and support more jobs and opportunities for Australians. Critical minerals, including rare earths,... Read more →

Hyzon Motors, a hydrogen fuel cell technology developer and global supplier of zero-emission heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), announced the commercial trial deployment of its first Heavy Rigid fuel cell electric waste collection truck to Remondis Australia, one of the world’s largest recycling, service, and water companies. The commercial... Read more →

Australia-based is forming a JV to bring to market a new hydrogen injection technology that can be used to reduce diesel and gasoline fuel usage in passenger, commercial and stationary engines. UHL plans to target heavy diesel vehicles, such as trucks, buses, vans, utes, cement trucks and waste collection vehicles... Read more →

A new study by a team from the University of Sydney and Geoscience Australia has mapped the concentration and distribution of lithium across Australian soil, providing crucial insights for identifying potential reserves in the country. An open-access paper on the work is published in the journal Earth System Science Data.... Read more →

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and corporate advisor RFC Ambrian have co-founded Hadean Energy, a new company to commercialize CSIRO’s tubular solid oxide electrolysis (tSOE) technology. Solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) (earlier post) uses a ceramic cell to split heated steam molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. SOE operates at temperatures above... Read more →

Australia-based hydrogen fuel cell vehicle company H2X Global recently secured a US$57-million deal with US-based firm, Verde Mobility Inc., to fastrack H2X’s delivery of 800 hydrogen-powered vehicles. The deal will finance the delivery of H2X Global’s US$300 million in purchase agreements for vehicles that include the Warrego (utility vehicle), Paroo... Read more →

A new report released by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and GHD Advisory calls for Australia to focus on the refueling infrastructure to support hydrogen-powered transport—alongside electric vehicles—or risk being left behind its international counterparts. While battery electric vehicles will drive decarbonization of road transport in Australia, there are opportunities... Read more →

Dovetail Electric Aviation announced that Hyundai Motor Group’s HTWO will supply a hydrogen fuel cell system for electric aviation powertrain trials. HTWO is the fuel cell system-based hydrogen business brand of Hyundai Motor Group. Rex, Australia’s largest independent regional and domestic airline, took a 20% stake in Dovetail in April,... Read more →

Rio Tinto plans to invest US$395 million in a seawater desalination plant in the Pilbara, Western Australia, to support future water supply for the company’s coastal operations and communities in the region. The proposed Dampier Seawater Desalination Plant, which remains subject to Commonwealth and State Government approvals, will be located... Read more →

Australian battery technology company Li-S Energy recently announced the development of its first 20-layer battery cells utilizing third-generation (GEN3) semi-solid-state lithium-sulfur battery technology. Key benefits Li-S Energy’s GEN3 lithium-sulfur battery cell include: a 45% improvement in volumetric energy density, reaching 540Wh/l; higher gravimetric energy density of more than 400Wh/kg; and... Read more →

Albemarle Corporation announced its decision to build two additional processing trains at the Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia. The additional trains will be wholly owned and operated by Albemarle and would increase the facility’s production by 50 kilo-tonnes per annum (50,000 metric tonnes per annum). Operating at full... Read more →

Stellantis N.V. and exploration and development company Alliance Nickel (formerly GME Resources) signed a binding offtake agreement for the supply of 170,000 tons of nickel sulfate and 12,000 tons of cobalt sulfate in total over an initial five-year period. This represents approximately 40% of forecast annual production of the NiWest... Read more →

Rio Tinto has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Platina Scandium Project (PSP), a high-grade scandium resource in New South Wales, from Platina Resources Limited for $14 million. The project, near Condobolin in central New South Wales, contains a long life, high-grade scalable resource that could produce up... Read more →

Liontown Resources, an emerging battery minerals producer based in Australia, has rejected an unsolicited, conditional and non-binding indicative proposal from Albemarle Corporation, in which Albemarle would acquire all of the shares in Liontown at a price of A$2.50 per share—valuing the company at approximately US$3.7 billion. The proposal represented a... Read more →

Shenge, a China-based developer, producer, and supplier of rare earth products, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Australia-based rare-earths miner VHM to purchase 6,400 tpa of rare earth mineral concentrate (REMC) and 100,000 tpa of zircon/titania heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) products for each calendar year of the three-year... Read more →

Global lithium company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A., via its wholly-owned subsidiary SQM (SQM), will make a major cornerstone investment of up to A$20 million to acquire a 19.99% interest in Australia-based Azure Minerals Limited through a two-stage transaction. Azure Minerals is developing the Andover nickel-copper-cobalt sulfide project... Read more →

Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia Pty Ltd (TLEA), the 2021 lithium joint venture entity owned by Tianqi Lithium Corporation (TLC) (51%) and IGO (49%), has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Essential Metals Limited for A$0.50/share, payable in cash. The transaction represents a 36.3% premium to ESS’s 30-day VWAP... Read more →

Australia-based lithium miner Core Lithium has loaded the first export shipment of product from the Finniss mine in Australia’s Northern Territory. This first shipment of 15,000dmt of 1.4% Li2O Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) (1.4% Li2O), announced 3 October 2022, was successfully tendered using a digital exchange platform achieving a price... Read more →

Iberdrola Australia and Australia-based hydrogen developer ABEL Energy will build a green hydrogen and green methanol production plant at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania (Australia). The project, called Bell Bay Powerfuels, is backed by the Australian government and will involve an investment of €1.1 billion. The Bell Bay Powerfuels Project... Read more →

Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources released the December 2022 edition of the Resources and Energy Quarterly (REQ). Among its findings are that lithium export earnings are expected to exceed $16 billion in 2022–23, up from $5 billion in 2021–22. This will make lithium Australia’s sixth-largest resource and energy... Read more →

Australian express freight company, Team Global Express, has placed an order for 36 Volvo FL Electric trucks. This is Volvo’s largest electric truck order to date in Australia. The trucks will hit the streets of Sydney during the first quarter of 2023. The Volvo FL Electric model will be equipped... Read more →

SK On, a global electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer, signed a lithium supply deal with Australia’s Lake Resources (earlier post), a move that will further strengthen its key battery materials supply chain in response to robust business growth and geopolitical risks. Under the agreement, SK On anticipates the delivery of... Read more →

General Motors has secured a new source of cost-competitive nickel and cobalt for Ultium battery cells after making a strategic investment in Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) of Australia (earlier post). The nickel laterite ore is expected to be processed using a new and proprietary process that helps reduce waste with... Read more →

Engineers from UNSW Sydney (Australia) have successfully converted a diesel engine to run as a dual-fuel hydrogen-diesel engine, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 85% compared to conventional diesel. The team, led by Professor Shawn Kook from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, spent around 18 months developing the... Read more →