Australian High Commissioner Barry O'Farrell on Thursday (7 January) said that both Australia and India will gain from expanding trade in lithium resources, reports The Economic Times.

He was speaking at a session on 'Lithium: Powering a New Australia-India Partnership' conducted by the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce.

"Lithium, and Li-ion and other technologies, will play a key role. Indeed, India's ambitious renewable energy targets have led to an expansion of its clean energy commitments.

The Australian High Commissioner said that Lithium metal-based battery technologies will form the key component of the push for the rollout of EV and hybrid vehicles.

"Both Australia and India stand to gain from the promise of expanding trade in lithium resources,” O'Farrell was quoted as saying.

He said that Australia is a reliable and cost-competitive supplier of resource and energy commodities.

"Australia is the world's largest producer of lithium and has the second largest lithium reserves in the world. And, as a market leader in Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS), our firms can contribute to the development of India's own lithium resources," he added.

The Australian High Commissioner opined that there couldn't be better timing for lithium related trade and investment to diversify and strengthen the supply chain as India is pushing for self sufficiency and experiencing high growth in new economy sectors.

Lithium is a key component of batteries and other electronics including electric cars that are becoming increasingly common in use.

According to the US Geological Survey, presently Australia has the second largest minable lithium reserves.