Australia Plugs Into the Clean Energy Chain

Covalent and Syrah lead Australia’s push from miner to clean tech maker

10 Oct 2025

Australia’s energy story, once defined by digging and shipping, is being rewritten. A surge of investment, partnerships and policy support is pushing the country beyond mining into battery manufacturing and materials processing, an evolution that could give it a firmer grip on the global clean-energy supply chain.

The momentum is visible in Western Australia. Covalent Lithium’s new Kwinana refinery, the country’s first integrated lithium-hydroxide facility, marks a move to capture more value onshore rather than sending ore abroad. Syrah Resources, meanwhile, has strengthened its ties with Tesla through a renewed anode-materials supply deal, bolstered by incentives under America’s Inflation Reduction Act. Together, they hint at a country seeking to refine not just minerals, but its industrial identity.

Australia hopes to stitch together a full battery ecosystem, from exploration to refining, component manufacturing and recycling, just as global demand for electric vehicles and storage systems is set to double by 2030. “The next decade will define Australia’s energy identity,” says Peter Rolfe, an energy analyst in Perth. “By linking mining, processing and manufacturing, the country is positioning itself as a potential powerhouse of clean-technology exports.”

Yet ambition meets reality in China’s shadow. Decades of dominance have left Chinese firms controlling most of the world’s battery supply chain. Matching that scale will require costly infrastructure, new skills and sustained research. Canberra’s Battery Breakthrough Initiative and the national science agency, CSIRO, are trying to bridge those gaps with work on sodium and graphite alternatives.

For now, optimism runs ahead of output. But collaboration among miners, scientists and manufacturers is deepening, and confidence is rising. Australia’s battery revolution is still in its infancy, but this time, it may export finished power rather than raw potential.