The Gold Coast is set to be home to Australia’s first factory capable of producing both community lithium batteries and EV chargers as eLumina’s manufacturing site nears completion.
The $20 million manufacturing facility will produce 300 batteries a year and create 300 jobs on the Gold Coast, capable of serving up to 100 Queensland households with reliable and cheaper renewable energy.
Lisa Marsh, CEO of eLumina, said on-shore manufacturing of critical EV technology, such as chargers and batteries, was essential to Australia’s energy future.
“Global demand for batteries is soaring. We have record solar uptake and energy generation in Australia, but we need battery storage at scale to harness its full potential.
“Through battery storage we can capture this energy and ensure reliable and cheaper off-grid power to all Australians. This insulates communities from power outages and saves them money.”
To accelerate the deployment of its EV chargers across the country, eLumina has partnered with Addelec, a leading installer of EV charging stations with national asset management capabilities.
Chris McPherson, General Manager of Addelec, said producing EV chargers in Australia will make it easier to meet demand and to support the exciting transformation to more sustainable transport.
“The number of EVs on Australian roads is growing rapidly and charging infrastructure needs to keep pace with that. The eLumina D1 with built in battery storage is a great option to have, especially considering the power challenges we have across Australia.”
Tom Tate, Mayor of the Gold Coast, said the Gold Coast had an ambitious plan to secure a larger slice of the clean energy sector and the high skilled jobs it’s creating. “eLumina choosing the Gold Coast as home for Australia’s first factory building both lithium community batteries and EV chargers shows our city has the right settings, ambitions and support for businesses for advanced manufacturing to thrive.”
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