Australia-based manganese processing technology company Firebird Metals has been awarded a A$2-million grant from government agency the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) under its Battery Breakthrough Initiative (BBI) programme to support the development of the company’s Australian Demonstration Plant (ADP).

Firebird will be reimbursed for up to A$2-million, subject to meeting agreed milestones related to various operational deliverables.

The ARENA grant follows an extensive due diligence process, including independent technical review, and represents a significant endorsement of Firebird’s proprietary manganese processing technology and the strategic importance of establishing cathode active material (CAM) production capability in a Western jurisdiction.

“Batteries are critical to delivering reliable, affordable and low-emissions energy and battery manufacturing is a key part of Australia’s energy transition and economic future.

“Firebird’s Perth demonstration-scale facility is an important step toward building domestic capability to convert Australian manganese into battery cathode materials, strengthening supply chain resilience and supporting the growth of next-generation battery manufacturing,” Arena CEO Darren Miller says.

The ADP is designed to demonstrate Firebird’s fully integrated technology platform, converting manganese ore directly into high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), precursor CAM (p-CAM) and finished CAM within a single facility and process line.

Firebird says this integrated approach removes conventional intermediate processing steps, thereby delivering significant energy, capital and operating cost advantages.

Firebird’s technology platform represents a breakthrough in manganese-based battery material processing and core innovations include the company’s high-efficiency kiln technology, advanced crystallisation process and cathode material formulations, which are all protected by five lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP) battery patents exclusively licensed to Firebird for all markets outside China through to 2045.

The technology provides a fully integrated processing chain, converting manganese feedstock into HPMSM (in solution), then into p-CAM and, ultimately, into CAM, including LMFP and lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries.

What distinguishes Firebird's approach is its ability to collapse what has traditionally been a fragmented, multi-facility, multi-country supply chain into a single integrated process.

The technology is ore agnostic, testing has demonstrated that it can be applied across multiple manganese ore types without impacting product specifications and it is designed to be energy efficient, capital light and operationally cost competitive.

Further, this technology spans key processing steps such as hydrometallurgy, purification, p-CAM manufacturing and CAM production.

Notably, the global battery supply chain for manganese-based cathode materials remains in China, and the processing of manganese ore into battery-grade cathode materials, particularly LMFP, is almost entirely undertaken by Chinese processors.

Firebird also notes that LMFP is rapidly gaining market share as a preferred cathode chemistry.

Electric vehicle (EV) producer BYD unveiled its Blade Battery 2.0 in March, boasting improved driving performance, range and charge speed using an LMFP.

Firebird highlight that this concentration of supply represents a critical vulnerability for Western battery manufacturers, automotive original-equipment manufacturers and energy storage developers seeking to diversify their supply chains.

Moreover, governments across Australia, the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea have identified cathode material supply chain sovereignty as a strategic priority.

Firebird’s ADP represents one of the first credible pathways globally to produce LMFP cathode materials from manganese ore in a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction. The company says the Arena grant provides further validation that the Australian government recognises both the strategic imperative and the credibility of Firebird’s technology to deliver on it.

The company highlights that this aligns directly with the Australian government’s critical minerals strategy, its energy storage priorities and its broader Net Zero 2050 commitments.

Firebird CEO Ron Mitchell says the awarding of the Arena grant marks a major milestone for Firebird, providing independent validation from the Australian government of its proprietary technology.

This technology can be defined as an integrated process that converts manganese ore directly into finished CAMs for next-generation lithium-ion batteries applied in the EV and energy storage system markets.

“LMFP is rapidly emerging as the cathode chemistry of choice for a significant portion of the global EV and energy storage market, yet virtually all the world’s LMFP cathode material is currently produced in China. Firebird is building the technology and the facility to change that and this Arena grant accelerates our pathway to demonstrating that capability right here in Australia, specifically, Western Australia.

“The funding directly supports the construction and commissioning of our ADP, which we intend to be the world’s first fully integrated manganese-to-CAM processing facility outside China,” Mitchell adds.

“The grant is significant not just for the funding it provides, but for what it signals. Arena’s decision to back Firebird, after a thorough independent technical review, confirms that our technology is credible, commercially relevant, and strategically important.

“As Western governments and major industrial players accelerate efforts to derisk battery supply chains from Chinese dependency, Firebird is positioned at the intersection of technology innovation and geopolitical necessity. The Arena grant strengthens our hand as we engage with the large offtake partners, licensees and project financiers that will be critical to scaling our technology beyond the ADP,” Firebird chairperson Evan Cranston adds.

Final ADP site selection for the ADP is nearing completion.