ASX company Lithium Australia’s subsidiary VSPC has been selected to be part of the Australian government’s $5m research program to develop fast-charge lithium-ion batteries for use in transportation.
VSPC will develop advanced cathode materials with research partners CSIRO, The University of Queensland, and Soluna Australia.
Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said the research aims to deliver an Australian product that puts the country at the forefront of battery development.
“This is an unparalleled opportunity to combine VSPC’s battery-materials technology with some of the world’s leading research,” Mr Griffin said.
For participating in the Co-operative Research Centres project, VSPC will receive grant funding of $1.6m, with similar amounts going to the other research partners.
The lithium-ion batteries are intended for the tram sector in Australia, eliminating the need for overhead power lines, which are expensive, and potentially hazardous.
CSIRO already has intellectual property and experience in fast-charging batteries for application in trams and other forms of transport such as ferries and buses.
CSIRO principal research scientist Adam Best said the organisation has 35 years’ experience in batteries and will be applying its significant capabilities to the research project.
VSPC will work with battery researchers at the CSIRO’s Clayton site in Victoria to design, manufacture and test fast-charge lithium-ion battery prototypes.
VSPC, a 100pc subsidiary of Lithium Australia, has a research and pilot plant facility in Brisbane where it is developing processes for manufacturing lithium-ion cathode powders for lithium-ion batteries.
