New Delhi [India], September 23 (ANI): Counsellor for Energy & Resources at the Australian High Commission, Sanjiva de Silva, highlighted the growing collaboration between India and Australia in the critical minerals sector, emphasizing efforts to strengthen battery supply chains and support the global energy transition.
“The Australian and Indian governments have been working for the last three years to combine forces to find projects in Australia that meet the needs of the Indian industry. That process was led on the Indian side by a consortium called KABIL and on the Australian side within the Critical Minerals Office of our Department of Industry,” de Silva said.
He noted that both governments had already made significant progress in advancing these initiatives. “We have identified those projects, and the Indian side has done a fantastic job in advancing to the final stages of the competitive processes for these major investments,” he added.
Building on this progress, de Silva underlined the broader strategic objective of ensuring secure and diversified supply chains. “Whether through this process or through the business-to-business collaboration that Australia has, it is crucial to consider the new battery supply chains that countries can secure offtake for. At the moment, it is very commonly known that China dominates a lot of that offtake market. What we are trying to do through the collaboration between the Australian and Indian governments is to position India to have access to some of that offtake,” he stressed.
Highlighting Australia’s global standing in this field, he said, “Australia exports about half the world’s lithium, so we are a superpower in the critical mineral space. Australia stands ready to work with our like-minded trading partners to diversify and deepen critical minerals supply chains so that countries can make the batteries, solar panels, and magnets needed to drive the energy transition.”
The partnership on critical minerals comes at a time when India and Australia are also widening cooperation in other strategic sectors, particularly defence. On July 3, the two countries undertook their first science and technology project arrangement to improve the detection and tracking of submarines and autonomous underwater vehicles. The agreement, announced by Australia’s Department of Defence, aims to boost defence ties in undersea surveillance technologies.
According to the Department of Defence, the agreement outlined a three-year joint research project between Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) Information Sciences Division and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory. The DSTG is the Australian government’s leading agency, employing a large number of scientists and engineers who deliver advice and innovative solutions on matters of defence science and technology.
The research will explore the use of Towed Array Target Motion Analysis technology to improve the reliability, efficiency, and interoperability of current surveillance capabilities. Discipline Leader Amanda Bessell explained the significance of the technology: “Target Motion Analysis is the crucial element in maintaining platform situational awareness when a passive mode of operation is required,” she said. The project utilizes a towed array-based signal processing system, offering both nations an advanced edge in maritime domain awareness.
Notably, the announcement by Australia’s Department of Defence followed External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar’s meeting with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, on the sidelines of the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the US in July. EAM Jaishankar highlighted that the meeting also marked the fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Australia.
Previously, in Rajya Sabha, MoS External Affairs Pabitra Margherita noted that Australia is the only country with which India has three unique frameworks: the Annual Leaders’ Summit, the 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue, and the Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue.
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