India and Australia are reinforcing their partnership on critical minerals to secure supply chains and enable the global transition to clean energy. This strategic collaboration recognises that lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements and similar resources are essential inputs for renewable technologies.
The rationale is clear. According to the International Energy Agency, global demand for lithium may increase by more than 40 times by 2040, while demand for cobalt and nickel could rise twentyfold. The clean energy future is mineral-intensive and anchored in solar and wind power, battery storage and electric mobility. Without assured and diversified access to these inputs, decarbonisation efforts risk significant delays.
The India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership, launched in 2022, aims to address this challenge. Through co-investment and joint project development, it seeks to enhance the security, transparency and sustainability of mineral supply chains. This moves away from the usual model of simply exporting resources and instead focuses on shared ownership, local processing and working together on technology. It is a more coordinated strategy that ties together industry, climate goals and global partnerships.
The most prominent initiative under the partnership is the proposed Kwinana Cobalt Refinery in Western Australia, led by Australian firm Cobalt Blue. Scheduled for construction in 2025, the facility will supply essential inputs for battery manufacturing. A recent agreement with Glencore secures 50 percent of the refinery’s feedstock needs. Simultaneously, Indian public sector enterprises—including Khanij Bidesh India—are in advanced negotiations to acquire stakes of up to 20 percent in lithium projects such as Mount Holland and Andover in Western Australia. These investments, valued at approximately US$600 million, will provide India with direct access to high-grade lithium reserves.
India has also launched the National Critical Minerals Mission, aligning domestic exploration and refining with its broader goals under the Production-Linked Incentive scheme for advanced chemistry cells and electric mobility. Australia, for its part, has committed A$4 billion through its Critical Minerals Facility and National Reconstruction Fund, explicitly prioritising downstream processing and domestic value creation.
These initiatives serve a dual purpose. First, they enable both countries to pursue their respective renewable energy goals. India has pledged to achieve 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and to reduce emissions intensity by 45 percent compared to 2005 levels. Australia’s policy focuses on its role as a secure and responsible supplier of raw and processed minerals for global energy systems.
Second, the partnership contributes to broader geopolitical objectives. Both countries are seeking to reduce dependency on a single dominant supplier—China—which currently accounts for over 87 percent of global rare earth processing and more than 58 percent of lithium refining. Collaboration between India and Australia reflects an emerging model of strategic autonomy in the Indo-Pacific.
The research dimension of the partnership is deepening, supported by increased funding and collaborative efforts. The Australia-India Strategic Research Fund will provide A$3.8 million annually from 2025–26, with a renewed emphasis on clean energy technologies and critical minerals processing. Academic and industry collaboration between institutions such as Monash University and the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has already begun to explore innovations in battery chemistry, recycling and sustainable extraction methods.
Challenges persist. In Australia, regulatory approvals for new mining and processing projects are often protracted, averaging five to seven years. India faces implementation risks linked to environmental clearances, land acquisition and state-level coordination. Both countries will need to address these structural constraints to ensure the timely delivery of projects.
Nonetheless, the strategic convergence is evident. At the ministerial level, both sides have expressed strong commitment. In June 2025, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell and Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met in Paris to advance negotiations for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, with critical minerals central to discussions. These efforts are further aligned with regional frameworks such as the Quad and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which increasingly emphasise clean energy security.
The significance of this partnership extends beyond bilateral relations. As global competition intensifies for control over energy transition supply chains, middle powers such as India and Australia are demonstrating that cooperative approaches grounded in shared values of transparency, sustainability and resilience are both feasible and beneficial. Through a lens of economic resilience and geopolitical balance, their actions support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 7 (affordable and clean energy) and 13 (climate action).
The India-Australia critical minerals partnership exemplifies how strategic diplomacy can be harnessed to meet climate imperatives. It reflects a shared understanding that the energy transition must be both environmentally sustainable and geopolitically secure. The partnership is a comprehensive framework for strategic alignment, industrial collaboration and energy security in a stable and decarbonised Indo-Pacific.