Gold Coast battery factory to produce EV chargers and community batteries

Australian owned storage battery and EV charger manufacturer eLumina is nearing completion of a $20 million manufacturing facility located on the Gold Coast which will be the first in the country capable of producing both community lithium-ion batteries and EV chargers.

eLumina was founded in 2022 and has already installed the first of its battery-integrated EV chargers – a 193kWh battery-integrated-charger called the D1. Six D1 chargers have been installed in Queensland and New South Wales, with another 30 on order from NRMA and Essential Energy.

“In the next 12 months we will install at least 50 D1s and probably about 150 D2s,” says Lisa Marsh, co-founder and CEO of eLumina.

The company also offers two containerised battery energy storage systems based on an LFP chemistry, the 931kWh L1000 and the 1,491kWh L1500.

Now, eLumina’s new factory is nearing completion and is set to begin operations by August. Once fully up and running, the Gold Coast-based manufacturing facility will be capable of producing 300 batteries each year.

While facing something of an uphill battle – rising to prominence in the wake of the collapse of Australian EV charging supplier Tritium – eLumina believes it is essential to Australia’s energy future to onshore manufacturing of critical EV technologies such as chargers and batteries.

“Global demand for batteries is soaring,” said Marsh. “We have record solar uptake and energy generation in Australia, but we need battery storage at scale to harness its full potential.

“Through battery storage we can capture this energy and ensure reliable and cheaper off-grid power to all Australians. This insulates communities from power outages and saves them money.”

Marsh told The Driven earlier this year that eLumina has already been approached to install its D2 chargers at former Tritium stations, adding that the company’s “products are chalk and cheese with Tritium.”

“Tritium didn’t have an all-in-one battery solution, so their target market was very different, their price point was also very different. Our D1 product, the recommended retail price is $250,000. It’s really designed for rural areas and we’re the only ones solving that solution.”

eLumina is also looking to accelerate the deployment of its EV chargers around Australia, partnering with Addelec (formerly Gemtek), a leading installer of EV charging stations.

“The number of EVs on Australian roads is growing rapidly and charging infrastructure needs to keep pace with that,” said Chris McPherson, general manager of Addelec.

“The eLumina D1 with built in battery storage is a great option to have, especially considering the power challenges we have across Australia.”