Funding extension to bolster onshore critical minerals processing

WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael announced a 12-month funding extension for the Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant (C4P), ensuring ongoing operations.

The $1.49m funding commitment from the State Government via the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) supports a partnership between Curtin University, CSIRO and MRIWA and leverages the capability created by the Future Battery Industry Cooperative Research Centre.

Minister Michael says the State Government recognises the importance of knowledge exchange, interdisciplinary research and innovation synergies to improve WA’s global competitiveness.

“This funding extension via MRIWA, ensures the C4P can be used to accelerate research and skills development to deliver outcomes of direct interest to the WA public,” he said.

“Continued operation ensures retention of this unique capability in WA and creates a cornerstone from which industry, government and researchers can collaborate to achieve an internationally competitive, ethical and value adding battery and critical minerals industry that enables global decarbonisation and underpins our economic diversification.”

The C4P is unique and one of only a small number of facilities available globally to pursue pilot production of precursor cathode materials, demonstrating WA’s technical and processing capability to produce precursor cathode active material (pCAM) for the battery industry.

This supports the objectives of the State’s Battery and Critical Minerals Strategy 2024-2030 to increase onshore processing of raw materials to higher-value products and expand critical minerals processing capabilities.