Lithium is the new black as demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy batteries grow, thus Australia’s biggest climate tech startup accelerator Energy Labhas decided to do something about it by supporting 11 space startups in a new program

Australia produces 60% of the world’s lithium but represents only 1% of global product value in the lithium battery value chain, so EnergyLab wants to move the dial with the inaugural Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge.

The 11 startups involved (see below) range from developers of new cell chemistry to scale-up electric vehicles and recyclers of critical metals.

From the accelerator Supercharge Australia initiative aims to boost local lithium battery innovation, match the involved startups with mentors and experts, and set them up to pitch on March 30 in Sydney. A panel of experts from CSIRO, Boundless, New Energy Nexus and EnergyLab will then select an ultimate winner.

Kirk McDonald, Project Manager Supercharge Australia said the startup cohort is “the vanguard of a low-carbon export powerhouse” for our region and the world.

“Australia now understands the tremendous opportunities its mineral and renewable energy endowment presents, and the decarbonisation responsibilities it requires,” he said.

Danny Kennedy, CEO of New Energy Nexus, said: “Australian innovators are uniquely positioned to provide emerging and mature global markets with low-impact lithium products and resources to support our energy transition with better batteries”.

The startups involved are

• EV FireSafe for Business, co-founded by two experienced firefighters, bringing electric vehicle (EV) fire and safety knowledge to anyone working with electrified transportation;

• Geelong based FESTEST DRIVE which has developed a cost-effective hub motor to counter the inefficiency of EV engines and ensure that internal combustion engine vehicles can be converted to EVs cheaply and efficiently;

• Sydney based Geliona battery storage innovator developing new lithium-sulfur and lithium-silicon-sulfur technologies to improve performance, cost, and safety for next-generation battery applications;

• The Good Auto Company, founded in Hobart, which provides affordable EVs through bulk purchases, direct sales and subscriptions. They import new and pre-owned EVs to drive a second-hand EV market in Australia and can upcycle EVs with newer batteries and improved functionality to enable bi-directional charging;

• Proheliumfounded in Brisbane, designs and markets battery monitoring systems, bespoke lightweight high performance battery solutions, accessories, monitoring and advisory services;

• Renewable metalsbased in Perth, which recycles lithium batteries using a new technology that recovers six critical metals – lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and graphite – from waste batteries, minimizing waste by-products;

• Roevthat converts large fleets to electric, solves unmet demand and manages energy consumption;

• Sicona battery technologies which uses a technology developed by the University of Wollongong to produce next-generation battery materials technology used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries for electric mobility and renewable energy storage;

• Based in Brisbane Sustainable lithium cells Australiawhich enables recycling of lithium batteries and reduces the carbon footprint of lithium battery construction by extracting value from old batteries and providing a cost-effective supply of second-life cells in good condition for use in e-mobility and energy projects.

• The Australian National University Syenta which makes multi-material additive manufacturing devices for electronics such as solar cells, batteries, sensors and printed circuit boards with high resolution and high speed; and,