Research helps prepare Australia's workforce for growing battery demand

As Australia's battery industry continues to grow, so too does the need for a skilled workforce capable of managing batteries safely and sustainably throughout their lifecycle.

To help address this emerging workforce challenge, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Energy Storage Research Group received an Applied Research Grant from the TAFE Centre of Excellence Clean Energy Batteries to investigate Australia's lithium-ion battery disposal practices against international standards and identify priorities for future training.

Led by Associate Professor Joshua Watts, Director of the QUT Energy Storage Research Group, the project examined the rapidly emerging challenge of end-of-life battery management. With increasing numbers of batteries from electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and other applications reaching the end of their primary use, demand is growing for workers who can safely assess, handle, repurpose and recycle them.

"At the moment globally there's a large influx of batteries moving to end of life from EV industries as well as grid applications and other types of primary applications, and there's a lack of capability to be able to handle and process these lithium-ion batteries as they go to end of life," said Associate Professor Watts.

"Our project is working with TAFE Queensland, Murdoch University, North Metro TAFE and industry to identify where the gaps are currently in Australia for handling batteries at end of life, and then putting in some recommendations and eventually developing some pilot programs to be able to apply those workforce training recommendations."

QUT's Energy Storage Research Group conducts research across the entire battery supply chain, supporting innovation and industry development throughout Australia's growing battery sector. Through this project, the team explored both the challenges and opportunities associated with handling, assessing, repurposing and recycling lithium-ion batteries at the end of their operational life.

The researchers found that effective end-of-life battery management can deliver both environmental and economic benefits. Valuable materials contained within batteries can be recovered and returned to supply chains, while batteries that retain sufficient capacity may be repurposed for second-life applications such as energy storage.

These opportunities are already supporting the growth of new industries internationally and have the potential to create jobs, strengthen domestic supply chains and contribute to Australia's clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors.

"There's a lot of economic opportunity in batteries in end of life, whether that's recovering the critical minerals and putting them back into supply chains or using the batteries themselves for secondary purposes and if we can spin up that workforce in Australia, there's a good opportunity for economic growth and industry growth," said Associate Professor Watts.

Director of the TAFE Centre of Excellence Clean Energy Batteries, Shawn O'Sullivan said the project highlights the important role applied research plays in identifying emerging workforce and training needs to support the growth of Australia's battery industry.

"The research conducted by QUT provides valuable insights across the full spectrum of battery applications, from household devices through to large-scale industrial and energy storage systems. Importantly, the findings will help inform scalable pilot training programs that can be adapted to meet workforce needs across different parts of the industry," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"As battery use continues to expand, building workforce capability in end-of-life battery management will be critical to supporting both industry growth and sustainability outcomes. This is important, forward-looking work that we are proud to support with Applied Research Grant funding," he said.

Learn more about the QUT Energy Storage Research Group's project.