Premier Roger Cook has hosted a major forum, bringing together Japanese businesses and investors to explore and promote green industry opportunities in Western Australia (WA).
In a media statement, the government said Japan stands as the second largest trading partner of WA, and this forum is poised to strengthen and expand its economic ties.
In particular, Japan is WA’s largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) customer, accounting for a substantial 41 per cent of the State’s LNG exports.
Notable attendees at the forum included representatives from prominent industry players like BP Japan, CWP Global, JOGMEC, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Marubeni Corporation, Mitsui, Tokyo Gas, and others.
Premier Cook seized the opportunity to emphasise WA’s enormous potential in industries vital to achieving global decarbonisation goals.
Presently, WA is experiencing growth in lithium hydroxide projects, essential for battery manufacturing, which could position the State to contribute up to 10 per cent of global refining capacity by 2024, a figure expected to rise to 20 per cent by 2027.
Significant investments in rare earth processing facilities are also in progress, and they have the potential to transform WA into one of the few jurisdictions outside of China capable of offering export quantities of processed rare earths.
Moreover, WA is currently pursuing around 30 gigawatt-scale renewable hydrogen projects, capitalising on its world-class renewable energy resources.
These projects aim to produce millions of tonnes of renewable hydrogen each year, primarily for export to Japan.
This forum occurred on the second day of the trade mission to Japan led by Premier Roger Cook and Deputy Premier, with a focus on promoting trade and tourism opportunities for WA.
Premier Roger Cook expressed his thoughts on the significance of Japan’s role in WA’s economy and its potential to drive future growth.
He stressed the importance of WA’s resources and capabilities in critical minerals and renewable energy, positioning the state to become a green energy powerhouse as the world moves toward achieving net zero emissions.
“WA has the critical minerals, renewable energy and the skilled workforce to become a green energy superpower as the world moves to net zero,” Cook said.
“That means more local jobs and a strong local economy into the future,” the premier added.
