IESW 2024: Roadmap for India-Western Australia partnerships in battery and critical minerals space

There is a natural alignment between India and Western Australia in the battery and critical minerals space with both sides sharing common interests, according to a joint research report highlighted during the India Energy Storage Week 2024 (IESW 2024).

The report, prepared by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA, an energy initiative owned by Customized Energy Solutions India) and Western Australia's science and innovation authority (WA-JTSI) outlines the areas on which both sides can focus for mutually beneficial partnerships considering India's demand scenario and Western Australia's capabilities in the supply chain. 

In particular, the report notes that Western Australia produced half of the world's lithium in 2023. The state was also the sixth largest nickel supplier worldwide with four percent of global supply and the fourth largest supplier of cobalt (two percent of global supply). Western Australian stakeholders play a key role in supplying, minerals for India's core industrial sectors such as steel, industrial products, rare earth minerals etc.

The two sides already share a "cordial and strong diplomatic relationship" the report notes, with among Western Australia's top 10 trading partners. Trade between the two sides totaled more than $5.2 billion in 2021-22, the analysts note.

Delivering the key analysis from the report, Sinjan Pathak, consultant, Customized Energy Solutions India, offered insights from the trade & investment side.

The top trade and investment opportunities remained in the battery sector, he told the audience.

He added that the report shortlisted 67 specific opportunities where both sides can collaborate, which had been shortlisted from the initial compilation by using a prioritization framework that helped to filter the most promising prospects based on detailed screening and strategic alignment for both partners.

The top three areas were the supply of battery materials, technology partnerships for mineral & material processing and the supply of midstream chemicals and components, Sinjan said.

Aditi Pathak, Learning Manager at IESA Academy, explained the academic and research collaborations of the report, which identified the skill gaps and areas that need support and R&D.

Certain electromechanical skills and IoT (Internet of Things) areas that leverage remote solutions were found to be suitable for collaboration, she said.

Additionally, the partners drilled into 23 Indian institutions to further classify them according to the type of opportunities available in Western Australia. They were screened for their past connect with institutions including:

• Joint R&D and pilot projects
• Pilot demonstrations
• Student and faculty programs
• Curriculum development and training the trainers