Defence Minister Richard Marles has praised the work of Newcastle firm 3ME Technology in helping Australia's military prepare for an electric future.
Mr Marles, the Deputy Prime Minister, toured the Cardiff workshop on Monday with Minister for Defence Industries Pat Conroy to inspect 3ME's battery technology used in mining and defence vehicles.
The company helped build a prototype electric Bushmaster armoured personnel vehicle for the Australian army in 2022 and hopes to sell its technology to the US military.
The 3ME batteries are immersed in liquid, providing protection when a vehicle is involved in combat.
"The electrification of our vehicles is critically important," Mr Marles said.
"This is the way vehicles are going to operate into the future.
"There's a lot more versatility that comes from being able to have electric vehicles.
"The challenge of doing this in a defence context is making sure they are sustainable, they have durability, but they are robust in a conflict environment, and that's what's being developed here, and that's what's so impressive about this technology."
in 2022, the US Army set a deadline of deploying hybrid vehicles by 2035 and all-electric vehicles by 2050.
Mr Marles said the Australian government was committed to electrifying the military's vehicles in the future.
"We are very mindful that this is the direction the world is heading in and this is the direction we need to see our fleets heading in as well," he said.
"This is the first step in a path we're going to have to walk in a very significant way, which is why the work that is being done here at 3ME is so important."
The government announced in last week's budget that it would increase defence spending by $50 billion over the next 10 years to implement its National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program.
Mr Marles said the US had shown a "high degree of interest" in the kind of battery technology being developed by 3ME.
"This is fantastic for the Australian Defence Force, but it's really fantastic in terms of the opportunity to export this technology to the world, including the United States," he said.
