Albemarle Kemerton Lithium Hydroxide Refinery - Future Made in Australia

Question

1. Kemerton was Australia's most significant operating lithium hydroxide refinery. On 11 February 2026 Albemarle idled Train 1, the last operating train, placing the facility into care and maintenance, with around 250 direct job losses. a. Does the Department accept that the loss of Kemerton contradicts the Future Made in Australia agenda's stated objective of building sovereign processing capability? b. How much spodumene from Greenbushes is now being exported for refining offshore rather than refined in Australia, and what proportion is refined in China? c. Does the Department accept that since the Future Made in Australia Act passed, Australia's net dependency on Chinese lithium hydroxide processing has increased rather than decreased? d. Treasury's National Interest Framework Supporting Paper (14 May 2024) anticipates Australia's clean energy supply chains will rely on Chinese imports. Does the Department accept that the Kemerton closure operationalises that outcome at the processing stage, and is that consistent with Future Made in Australia or contrary to it? 2. With Kemerton idled, Australia has lost operating lithium hydroxide refining capacity. a. Has the Department assessed how much lithium hydroxide refining capacity the Future Made in Australia framework was expected to support by 2030, and where the Kemerton idling leaves that projection? b. What's the Department's assessment of how Australia rebuilds operational refining capacity, and is the Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive the Government's only response?

Answer

See attached response.

Documents

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• BI-023_Liddle_Albemarle Kemerton Lithium Hydroxide Refinery - Future Made in Australia_DISR.pdf (opens in a new tab)