MELBOURNE: Top lithium producer Australia and major nickel suppliers Indonesia and the Philippines could team up to develop regional battery storage systems, the head of Philippine energy firm ACEN said on Monday.

“It’s worth noting that there is concentration of risk for lithium battery production, with over 70% being produced in China alone,” ACEN CEO Eric Francia told delegates to an Australia-ASEAN summit in Melbourne.

“With Australia being the top lithium producer globally, and Indonesia and the Philippines being the top nickel producers, there are potentially opportunities to establish a regional supply chain and cater to the significant demand for battery storage within our region,” he said.

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Any opportunities for electric vehicle batteries would make sense to be in Thailand, while Indonesia may offer more opportunity for large scale battery production, especially as solar power is helping to green the country’s power supply, he added on the sidelines of the event.