The $2 billion lithium-ion battery factory proposed for Townsville by a Bill Moss-led consortium has moved a step closer after striking a deal for global technology giant Siemens to provide digitisation and automation technology across the group’s plants.
Siemens signed a letter of intent last month that will initially cover a New York battery plant but will extend to other projects by the Imperium3 consortium.
Bill Moss, a former head of property for Macquarie Group, told The Australian the agreement was positive for the Townsville proposal.
“Energy security is becoming a major concern globally, Australia is on the verge of becoming a smart energy manufacturing powerhouse if the government allows it,” Mr Moss said.
Mr Moss had previously said the group was in advanced discussions with 30 suppliers, mostly based in Europe and the US, and many of these had said they would want operations alongside the battery factory.
The Imperium3 consortium includes US heavyweights Eastman Kodak, C4V and electronics manufacturer C&D Assembly, along with Mr Moss’s Boston Energy and Innovation and Australian-listed miner Magnis Resources. The group plans factories in New York, the Middle East and Australia capable of delivering batteries for home and automotive use and renewable energy storage.
Siemens signed the agreement with consortium members Magnis Resources and US-based, lithium-ion battery technology company Charge CCCV, known as C4V.
Siemens Digital factory division US president Raj Batra said the collaboration and digital know-how with Magnis and C4V would strongly shape and grow the battery market globally.
“We were very impressed by the progress being made in New York to date and we believe this is one of the most advanced upcoming battery projects worldwide,” Mr Batra said.
Magnis’s chairman, Frank Poullas, said that with cobalt prices reaching $US80,000 a tonne, the group’s cathode technology would be a “game changer”.
The lithium-ion battery consortium is converting an old IBM facility in upstate New York for its first factory with committed state funding.
Late last year, the Australian consortium gained a $3.1 million funding commitment from Queensland’s Palaszczuk government and launched a $12m capital raising to fund the feasibility study and a detailed engineering design for a 15-gigawatt plant in Townsville.
The Townsville council will grant part of a former CSIRO research station at Woodstock to the consortium in exchange for equity in the battery plant.
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