Producing High-Tech Metals and Materials

Project goal:

Develop mid-stream processing technologies and Intellectual Property needed to accelerate the development of Australia’s rare earths, lithium and tungsten industries and secure strategic supply chains.

Challenge / Opportunity:

  • Metals and materials produced from lithium, rare earths, tungsten and other refractory metals are essential to advanced manufacturing and defence industries.
  • The incumbent dominant technologies are energy intensive, inefficient, environmentally destructive and are tightly controlled by a small number of companies and countries.
  • A paradigm shift in processing technologies is needed to disrupt this industry, diversify vulnerable supply chains and re-base commercial fundamentals for Australian resource projects.

Project status:

CSIRO has developed Australian Intellectual Property and demonstrated novel, lower energy and less toxic processes to produce Rare Earth material for magnet-making industries and lithium metal suitable for long-life one-use batteries and the next generation of solid-state lithium rechargeable batteries. ANSTO and CSIRO have developed downstream processing routes for tungsten through to production of metals and materials essential to industrial and defence applications.

  • The “Lithsonic” pilot plant is demonstrating a supersonic quenching technique that is producing cheaper and cleaner sources of lithium metal than prevailing antiquated and toxic electrolysis technology.
  • CSIRO is producing Rare Earth metals used in magnets and tungsten metals at room temperature, significantly reducing costs and CO2 emissions. Further mini plants to demonstrate the technologies are under construction.
  • IP, pilot facilities and expertise developed by this project will be available to Australian industry, which will help invigorate upstream and midstream processing, open new opportunities for Australia in advanced manufacturing industries and diversify strategic supply chains.

Resources