The Federal Budget, released this week, brought forth a number of new programs and funds to accelerate the transition to clean energy technology, as well as confirming expenditures on commitments made pre-election.
A $1.9 billion Powering the Regions Fund will support industry decarbonisation and development of new clean energy. A new Driving the Nation Fund earmarks $275 million over six years to invest in electric and hydrogen vehicle infrastructure for cheaper and cleaner transport.
The fund will work in association with ARENA to deliver charging infrastructure for regional Australia. And there was the confirmation of the government’s flagship $20 billion commitment to critical transmission infrastructure under the Rewiring the Nation plan, which will enable renewables to flood the grid.
Critical minerals – the key ingredient for delivery of decarbonisation ambition here and worldwide – received a $50.5 million boost in the form of investment in a National Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub as part of the government’s new National Critical Minerals Strategy.
And the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, confirmed in the budget, includes a commitment to expand our regional industrial base in critical minerals. In the words of the Treasurer, this means “we can be a country that makes things again, so we can add value to the things we sell to the world, and so that every part of the country can have a stake in our Australian-made future.”
These investment commitments reflect the key themes of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s headland speech to the National Press Club in August, where he set out his policy vision after 100 days in office.
“We have everything that goes into a battery. We have lithium, we have copper, we have all of those minerals that will increasingly be in demand. We should be value-adding here,” Albanese said. He argued for a “different approach” to our historical dig and ship economy.
As demonstrated in our previous paper, the rapid acceleration of public and private convergence around energy economy investments in North America, and the efficacy of China’s state-backed clean energy initiatives, show strategic investment by our federal and state governments is key to catalysing private capital engagement. This includes capturing our once in a century opportunity to be a global critical mineral powerhouse.
In this paper we review key Australian public financial capital initiatives, including the latest Net Zero Industry and Innovation Investment Plan introduced by the NSW government this month, and new commitments under the 2022-23 Federal Budget. And we review their role in accelerating the development of Australia’s critical mineral supply chain value-adding projects.
Neometals Ltd (OTCMKTS:RDRUY – Get Rating)’s stock price was up 3.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as 7.45 and last traded at 7.45. Approximately 500 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 1,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at 7.20.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Separately, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Neometals in a report on Friday, October 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company.
Neometals Stock Up 3.5 %
About Neometals
Neometals Ltd explores for mineral projects in Australia. The company operates through three segments: Lithium, Titanium/Vanadium, and Other. Its projects include the Lithium-ion Battery Recycling project, which recovers cobalt and other materials from spent and scrap lithium batteries; Vanadium Recovery project, which recovers vanadium pentoxide through processing of steelmaking by-products; Lithium Refinery project; and Barrambie Titanium and Vanadium project located in Western Australia.
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