Lithium Valley Main Report 2018
5 Strategic Geo-Political Importance of Locating an Energy Metals and Power Storage Value Chain in Western Australia
further down-stream processing technology. WA already possesses the foundations of technological commercialisation upon which this additional processing capacity can be built. There is an opportunity to bring all these elements together with WA’s lengthy experience as an export economy to become a major export centre for a variety of products and processed goods in this New Energy industry sector. There are a great number of advantages of being an export centre in a "The potential for Western Australia to provide a secure, vertically integrated supply chain for lithium- ion and advanced materials industries in a neutral country is of great strategic significance, which is a tremendous competitive advantage over countries that only have downstream production capabilities." “
WA is a western democracy with a strong, transparent legal system, robust property rights and intellectual property protection. WA has a long history of stable government and being industry and mining friendly. Apart from being a major source of lithium, WA also has an abundance of complementary resources, including energy, for the power storage industry. By locating more lithium-ion and advanced materials processing in WA, WA can position itself as a politically neutral, reliable and ethical supplier of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) to the world. The larger the industry grows the greater the economies of scale that drives further investment and processing. Local processing can reduce supply chain costs and access to the wide variety of complementary raw materials makes WA an ideal cluster location for production. Along the Western Trade Coast (WTC) are concentrated fabrication and reagent facilities, a highly qualified and experienced workforce, cutting edge processes, affordable energy and reliable utilities while being in close proximity to universities. There are few places in the world that have all these advantages in one location while also being a globally connected export centre capable of supplying any country. As production grows greater economies of scale will further benefit local production. Traditionally, Australia has focused on a Harvest/Mine/Concentrate approach and limited refining processes. WA could instead focus on attracting companies that specialise in electro-chemical processes and
Page 50
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator