Projects awarded Major Project Status are of national significance and will contribute to economic growth and employment in Australia.
Sunlands Eyre Peninsula Graphite Hub
This project will produce and refine graphite on a global scale through a 2-stage process.
Stage 1 will re-establish the mining and processing of flake graphite in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. Exported concentrate will be further refined for battery anode manufacturing.
The next stage includes construction of a local refining capacity to support Australian graphite-based industries. As well as partnering with Sunland Energy to manufacture thermal energy storage systems. These systems allow greater integration of intermittent renewable energy into electrical grids.
It will create up to 200 direct construction jobs and 180 ongoing jobs.
Sunrise Battery Materials Complex
The Sunrise Battery Materials project will mine critical minerals vital in the production of the lithium-ion battery market. This includes nickel and cobalt, as well as the rare alloying metal, scandium.
The project is near Parkes in New South Wales. Once operational it is estimated to create 1,700 construction jobs, and 380 ongoing jobs.
Western Green Energy Hub
This large-scale renewable energy project is located on the Nullarbor Plain in the far southeast of Western Australia. It has an expected capital expenditure of $18.9 billion.
The project will cover 15,000 square kilometres and include 3,000 wind turbines and 25 million solar panel modules.
Once operating at full scale, it will produce up to 70 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity. This will create up to 3.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen and e-fuels every year.