Rio Tinto sets up battery testing plant in Melbourne

BRISBANE (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto is setting up a battery test plant at an Australian research hub to better understand how its minerals can work for battery makers, an executive said on Wednesday.

Rio set up its battery materials business in 2021 before buying the Rincon lithium mine in Argentina the following year. It has put on ice its plans to develop a large lithium mine in Serbia, for which research and development was centred at its Melbourne research hub, due to community opposition.

"I have just spent some time at Bundoora, where we are constructing an end-to-end battery laboratory to improve our understanding of battery production, manufacturing and chemistry," said Sinead Kaufman, chief executive of its minerals division.

"At this lab we will build our own batteries, allowing us to test how our minerals and other products will perform in real-world applications, such as in an electric vehicle batteries," she told a mining conference.

Kaufman said demand for lithium is expected to grow five-fold out to 2030, with a significant supply-demand deficit expected from the second half of this decade.

The battery plant is expected to be operational by November.

(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Sonali Paul)