About Us

 

A Strong Voice for Industry

The transition to net zero reliance on fossil fuels is resulting in the rapid growth of battery demand in Australia (and globally). This is creating a huge opportunity for innovators and industry to participate in this historic global energy shift.

We are only in the first stage of this new energy paradigm. In this decade and subsequent decades we will see our energy systems evolve with new generation and storage technology.  Applications for this technology will be limited only our imagination.

The brightest future will be for those who embrace the new technologies and courageously seek the next breakthrough. Their prospects will be maximised if they are part of a united ecosystem of skilled researchers, technicians, engineer, entrepreneurs, and investors.

The Advanced Materials and Battery Council (AMBC)  was formed by companies and researchers across the battery supply chain to present a unified and coherent battery supply chain sector voice to both promote the huge opportunity the energy transition presents and identify the policies required to maximise the opportunity.

The result of this policy and advocacy work by the AMBC and others has seen battery strategies from the National, Queensland and Western Australian governments targeted on our research, entrepreneurial and natural advantages.

There is still much to do, including ensuring the existing policies are rolled out efficiently, standards are developed, safety is maintained, community support is buttressed, follow up funding is achieved and decisions on local content are made that balance the pace of uptake and development of local content.

While businesses may individually have the ear of government now the strategies have been rolled out, the future is less certain. That is why a strong industry voice is a good investment for your organisation’s future.

Our Objectives

The Council will:

  • Provide industry leadership through building networks for collaboration across the  Australian advanced material and battery value chain to support AMB sector development;
  • Facilitate  industry access to research programs and capabilities to create new products, processes, services, regulatory and policy frameworks, and business models;
  • Facilitate stakeholder engagement with the AMB industry in Australia and internationally to increase local understanding of the extent of the capacity already evident in Australia and the potential for growth and contribution to the  international opportunity;
  • Provide input to the development of Australian and international standards in the sector;
  • Provide input to requirements to advance education and workforce development for the industry in Australia;
  • Promote and manage a cooperative approach to research and education in the AMB sector to advance industry-led research and workforce development for the sector in Australia;
  • Provide input on best practice for environmental, societal and governance (ESG) operations; and
  • Encourage the Members and the AMB industry, through their participation in a national collaboration, to achieve as a whole, something that is far greater than that attainable by the sum of its parts.
    Our Directors
    Craig Nicol

    Craig Nicol

    Chair

    Craig Nicol is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. He has a career of over 20 years in delivering large scale innovation including leading multi-billion-dollar gas and LNG value chains in Australia and Asia Pacific and managing sales and marketing teams across Asia Pacific working for Shell International. Craig has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Manufacturing Systems (Honours) and a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from the Queensland University of Technology. Craig is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

    Dr Lee Finniear

    Dr Lee Finniear

    Board Member

    Lee is Chief Executive Officer of Li-S Energy Systems. He has more than 25 years’ experience as a senior executive, including 10 years with Intergraph Corporation, (a US-based Fortune 1000 technology company) in roles including Vice President – Asia Pacific, plus 5 years as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of NASDAQ and ASX listed technology company, Metal Storm Limited.  Over the past 5 years, Lee has been the founder and director of a company delivering innovative Internet of Things (IoT) products to business and consumer markets. He was also the Vice President – Asia Pacific for a European telecommunications operator with a market focus on automotive manufacturers and enterprise IoT solutions. Lee has a First Class BSc. (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Geographic Information Systems.

    Lynette Molyneaux

    Lynette Molyneaux

    Board Member

    Lynette Molyneaux is a researcher in climate, energy and industry policy in the Centre for Policy Futures at The University of Queensland. She has worked with the Queensland Government on understanding Queensland’s resilience to a global energy transition and the Global Change Institute’s Delivering a Competitive Australian Power System suite of reports. Prior to her academic pursuits, Lynette spent more than 20 years in the IT industry managing Internet and Business Intelligence start-up in New Zealand, as a brand manager at IBM UK and a financial planner at IBM SA. Lynette has a Bachelor of Commerce from Rhodes University in South Africa, a Master of Natural Resource Economics and a PhD in Resilience and Energy Policy from the University of Queensland.

    Jeremy Peters

    Jeremy Peters

    Board Member

    Jeremy Peters is General Manager – Energy at Vecco Group. He has over 15 years of management experience with construction companies and electrical product manufacturers in the renewable energy, infrastructure, and resources sectors. He has held roles covering the full project and asset lifecycle from origination and pre-contracts to operations and maintenance activities. Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from the University of Queensland.

    Rob Williamson

    Rob Williamson

    Board Member

    Rob is the Chief Operations Officer at Alpha HPA. He is a mechanical engineer and joined Alpha HPA having recently rebuilt and started up a new 155ktpa SX zinc refinery in the USA in the capacity of Vice President and GM of the facility. Rob has over 20 years of experience in large facility operations similar to Alpha HPA and is responsible for building a Project delivery team for our HPA project in Gladstone.

    Our Management
    Quentin Hill

    Quentin Hill

    Chief Executive Officer

    Quentin Hill brings his seven years experience as Managing Director of Australia’s first mover in green steel resource projects, to grow the support and impact of the AMBC and lift visibility of the sector by promoting its members’ new and bold industry visions to government, investors and the wider community.  Quentin is a geologist with 25 yrs experience in mineral exploration, project development and business leadership across the resources industry, government and construction. 

    Andrew Davies

    Andrew Davies

    Chief Financial Officer

    Andrew Davies is Senior Group Financial Controller at PPK Group Ltd. He has worked for Eagers Automotive and Anglo American in a variety of financial and performance roles. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Commerce Account and Finance degree from the University of Queensland.