IGO has secured land in Kwinana from the Western Australian Government for an integrated battery material (IBM) facility.
Located in Perth, WA, the IBM project aims to integrate a downstream nickel refinery with a plant producing high-value nickel dominant precursor cathode active material (PCAM) for the battery supply chain.
IGO is working in collaboration with Wyloo Metals on the development of the project.
The project is expected to combine IGO’s nickel refining technology with PCAM production expertise, using a low-cost and low-carbon process.
The proposed IBM Facility would be the first commercial production of PCAM in Australia and would align with the State Government’s objective to develop Western Australia’s future battery industry.
The proposed facility is located adjacent to IGO Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery, which it jointly owns with Tianqi Lithium.
IGO is yet to make a financial investment decision on the development of the project. Before that happens, IGO must secure several key components, such as engaging a partner with experience in PCAM production, a feasibility study, environmental permitting and approvals, broad stakeholder engagement and the achievement of key commercial outcomes.
IGO acting chief executive officer Matt Dusci said Australia is playing an important role in the global supply of critical minerals.
“We need to continue to expand our participation throughout the battery supply chain, beyond just the mining of key raw minerals, in order to capture a greater share of the value,” he said.
“We believe the area where Australia can be most competitive is in midstream battery chemical processing.
“We are excited about securing this site at Kwinana – a pivotal step in our ambitions to be better integrated into the battery supply chain.
“We strongly believe that by bringing the right partners together, we will deliver a fully optimised nickel supply chain delivering low-cost, low-carbon, responsibly produced battery chemicals for the global battery and electric vehicle industry, to be delivered through an integrated battery material facility here in Western Australia.”