India-Australia smart energy partnership set to soar after thumbs up from PM Modi and Albanese

Australia is set to ride on India’s ambitious renewable energy goals which provide a huge opportunity for resources, expertise and manufacturing Down Under.

On Thursday, just before he joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the opening day of the fourth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met the leading smart energy business leaders, economic analysts, ethical investors and manufacturers from both the countries.

Between March 9 to 18, the travelling party from the Smart Energy Council – an independent body for the Australian smart energy industry – will focus on opportunities in renewable energy, storage and green hydrogen while visiting Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Australia, which has been blessed with extraordinary reserves of critical minerals, produces around half the world’s lithium, the key mineral that is at the heart of electric vehicles, smartphone batteries and much more. It is also the second-largest producer of cobalt and the fourth-largest producer of rare earths.

PM Narendra Modi too has laid special emphasis on taking the India-Australia bilateral relations to new horizons that would pave the way for greater cooperation between the two nations in various fields, particularly in critical minerals, coal, mining, defence, new and renewable energy, new technologies, agricultural research and cyber security.

Addressing delegates, Albanese talked about how Australian businesses can benefit from the renewables boom in India.

“Thirty-four Australian companies, just says a lot about the opportunity that is there if only we seize it,” said the Australian PM as he kicked off the proceedings on the second day of his India trip.

With the Australian government having swung in strongly behind the trip, pulling all strings to make the delegation a huge success, several business meetings and networking events are scheduled to take place over the next week.

The focus is on finding partners for the distribution of Australian technology in India and investors for smart energy innovation, large battery factories and solar panel manufacturing in Australia.

As the world shifts to cleaner, smarter energy, Albanese said that the Australian push is also about “smart economics” as it creates more jobs and grows businesses back home.

“Australia has been very good at innovation, in renewables and smart technology, but we haven’t always been good at commercialising those opportunities for Australia’s advantage.”

India is currently Australia’s sixth largest trading partner, but Albanese insists that the partnership could be much larger in the future as there’s no single major market out to 2035 with more growth opportunities for Australian business than India.

“This is about win-win, a win for Australia, a win for India – closer economic relations with what is the fifth largest economy in the world and growing,” stated Albanese who is on his first visit to India as the Australian PM.

Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes also admitted that Australia could become a renewable energy superpower if it seizes this opportunity in India.

“As India scales up solar and battery production, looks to build massive projects overseas, and rolls out cutting-edge energy technology at home, the opportunities for collaboration are immense,” said Grimes today.

Accompanied with his country’s Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell and Resources Minister Madeleine King, the Australian PM reached Mumbai in the afternoon to continue discussions on trade and investment, renewable energy, technology, defence and security cooperation with Indian counterparts.

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com earlier, India and Australia are already taking their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to a new level with extensive collaboration to identify opportunities for strategic investment in Australian critical minerals projects.

Albanese has maintained that the growth of areas like green hydrogen present enormous opportunities as India is a driver of new technology and innovation.

Also Read – Watch: Electrifying atmosphere at world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad as PM Modi and Albanese watch India-Australia Test together