Definitely time for the Government to build a battery manufacturing plant, before our electricity system becomes a security risk, why we would be sourcing our grid connected batteries from China when we have have all the battery materials here is crazy IMO.
Spending hundreds of billions on defense items, while at the same time having our whole electrical system built around Chinese battery storage modules, seems a complete brain fart to me.
If we are building our own batteries, we are supporting our own jobs, which pay tax on their earnings, it just seems like the obvious move IMO.
Get on the phone to LG and Samsung, for a quote, it aint rocket science.
Further to Donas post above:
The global collapse of nickel prices has hit the Australian mining giant, putting local jobs at risk.
Thousands of Australian jobs are at risk after mining giant BHP announced a massive $10.3 billion in writedowns following a global collapse in nickel prices and legal action in Brazil that forced it set more money aside for the Samarco dam disaster.
The country’s largest miner announced on Thursday a $US3.5 billion ($5.4 billion) pre-tax impairment against its WA nickel operations ahead of its half-year financial results which are due out on Tuesday.
BHP’s Western Australia Nickel employs about 2500 people and any downsizing of its mining operations, smelter in Kalgoorlie and refinery in Kwinana will reverberate across the industry.
Nickel is considered the rising star of Australia’s battery-driven mining green energy boom - alongside lithium and rare earths - but it has been swamped by a tsunami of supply out of Indonesia last year, which slashed prices and shuttered Australia’s sector seemingly overnight.
BHP chief executive Mike Henry said the miner is reducing operating costs at Western Australia Nickel and reviewing its capital plans for Nickel West and West Musgrave. “This is an uncertain time for the Western Australia nickel industry and we are taking action to address the current market conditions,” Henry said.