Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia

OUR STORY

Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA) is pioneering a new industry in Western Australia and paving the way for Australians to play a greater role in the decarbonisation of the world’s economy.

Our fully automated Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery is the first of its kind in Australia and one of the biggest and most advanced lithium processing plants in the world.

In building the Kwinana Refinery, we have brought downstream processing of lithium to Australia. In doing so we are adding value to Australia’s minerals, providing opportunities for Australians to develop new skills in an industry at the forefront of the decarbonisation of the world’s economy, and we are leading the way for Australia to play an even larger role in the battery supply chain.

The first of our production trains at Kwinana was completed in 2022. A second train is already partially constructed, and there are plans in the pipeline for trains 3 and 4, each with a production capacity of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year - all produced using spodumene mined and concentrated in Western Australia. The lithium hydroxide products from these plans will be exported to Europe and Asia.

Already, TLEA has invested more than A$2 billion in the Western Australian economy, providing jobs for over 900 Western Australians during construction. We have a permanent workforce of about 300, and our local content policy means more than 80 percent of all goods and services are sourced from within Australia.

Sustainable future

TLEA is now exploring other downstream opportunities and is collaborating with local researchers and companies on improving green energy initiatives including commercial uses for all four of our products. In addition to lithium hydroxide, we manufacture Tianqi Aluminosilicate, Gyplime and Sodium Sulphate.

Significant investment has been made on collaboration with research bodies, accreditation with the Australasian Pozzolan Association,  and through strategic relationships with potential off-takers of the product.

Our aluminosilicate product can be used as a replacement for cement in concrete, in the production of retaining blocks, and in mining applications to stabilise underground mining voids.  This product is less carbon intensive and is naturally occurring during the production of lithium hydroxide.

Gyplime can increase soil pH making the nutrients in the soil more available for plant growth, which increases harvest yields, and sodium sulphate is used in washing powder detergents, glass making and for dying textiles.

Our target is for our Kwinana refinery to have a zero-carbon footprint by reducing, or offsetting, our emissions at every stage of our production process. This includes using the world’s best spodumene feedstock so we can produce each tonne of lithium hydroxide more energy efficiently.  It includes sourcing off-grid power, minimising transport along our supply chain, and sourcing low or no-emission inputs for our refinery.

Through our investments in both the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery, and the Talison Lithium Mine, in Greenbushes, WA, we have set ourselves up to deliver for our customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and most importantly Australia, for the next 30 years.

Co-locating our refinery with our mine means we have eliminated the need to ship vast amounts of spodumene around the world for processing, helping to build a carbon-neutral battery supply chain, right here in Australia.