EUAA Submission: National Battery Strategy Issues Paper
Emily Wood | March 14, 2023
‘…the proposed National Battery Strategy comes at a time of escalating costs across the entire economy alongside the requirement for rapid transformation of the energy sector, including the need for batteries to provide firming capacity and other network services. For EUAA members, electricity and gas costs have risen significantly and while there is still much to do to bring energy costs under control we take this opportunity to once again acknowledge the work being undertaken by federal and state governments to address these issues.
Like all business, EUAA member companies are also dealing with supply chain and labour constraints, significant increases in material costs, rising interest rates and broader impacts of inflation on overall costs and consumer demand. These issues will be accelerated in the short to medium term as the staggering levels of government support in the USA (Inflation Reduction Act) and EU (in response to the Russian-Ukraine war) act as a powerful magnet for people, material resources, technology and capital. Even when the conflict in Ukraine ends, these significant global influences will have a profound impact on the scale, cost and rate of change of emissions reductions in Australia, including the energy system transition.
The magnitude and impact on global markets of actions by the USA and EU is another compelling reason to preserve and even grow sovereign capacity of key sectors of the economy. In the circumstances it is unreasonable to think Australia can compete head-to-head on a global stage with the likes of the USA and EU, but we can ensure we are able to service our domestic needs through building local capability and capacity.
Therefore, the EUAA supports government efforts to build the capability and capacity for battery technology development, deployment and manufacturing in Australia….’
Please download attachment to read full submission.
