INTHEBLACK August 2025 - Magazine - Page 45
Lithium extracted from a spent battery cell
is as useful as it was when the battery was
first produced.
“We believe that within the next ten years,
the battery-recycling sector will grow,” Bernal
says. “The technology is still in its early days,
but recycling stations will be absolutely
relevant in the sector.”
“Right now, it needs to make more sense
from a business point of view. So, the
investment is still not there, mainly because
we haven’t witnessed a strong need — yet.
We don’t yet see massive dumps of batteries,
but we will.”
Advanced battery management
businesses are factoring this into the design
of their batteries, engineering circularity
into their products. At Energy Renaissance,
this includes manufacturing the batteries
in a way that makes them easier to
disassemble.
“A lot of battery manufacturers, for
example, will laser-weld the cells,” Yabsley
says. “This means it’s much harder to break
it down and get access to materials such as
lithium, and to be able to recycle and reuse
that at the battery’s true end of life.”
AN ENERGISING OPPORTUNITY
This focus on circularity dovetails with
what Yabsley and Bernal see as a current
lost opportunity.
“Australia is the largest producer
of lithium,” Yabsley says. “We have all
the key minerals [we need] to make batteries
here in Australia, yet we capture less than
one per cent of the global battery value chain.
Instead of sending raw materials elsewhere,
we could be building full battery systems
here. We have the opportunity to transition
and grow our economy while protecting our
environment for future generations.”
And the timing could not be better,
Yabsley believes.
“We have the highest penetration
of rooftop solar in the world, but with
that comes the challenge of intermittency,”
she says. “Solar firmed with batteries
and wind is the solution to cheaper
reliable energy.
“It’s not complex or insurmountable.
It’s not one for the too-hard basket. We have
the technology and the skills. It just needs
a longer-term view and collaboration across
parties and sectors.” ■
READ
an article on the
groundbreaking
career of
Jairo Bernal
LISTEN
to a podcast
episode on a
zero-carbon
future that leaves
no Australian
behind
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intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 45
