PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Construction has started on Australia’s first, large-scale iron flow battery manufacturing facility, in Queensland.

Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Steven Miles said the $70-million, state-of-the-art big battery manufacturing centre is being developed by Energy Storage Industries – Asia Pacific (ESI).

“Energy storage is key to unlocking Queensland’s renewable energy revolution as we power towards our target of having 50% renewables by 2030. Queensland is becoming a renewable energy superpower and we’re well-positioned to be Australia and Asia-Pacific’s energy storage gateway.

“In the near future, power generated from a nearby wind or solar farm will be stored in iron flow batteries and help power Queensland. This manufacturing facility shows industry has confidence to invest in Queensland,” said Miles.

ESI director Stuart Parry said the company’s focus was on the manufacture and distribution of iron flow batteries for large-scale energy storage targeted towards wholesale electricity generators, energy retailers, and commercial and industrial customers.

“We expect this Maryborough centre to be operational by 2024 and by 2026 we expect to be in a position to deliver 400 MW of energy storage each year. Within 15 years we expect to be able to supply 6 GW of energy storage, or the equivalent of 20% of Australia’s energy needs.

“Longer-term, we have significant export ambitions - to be a provider of large-scale and small, modular distributed energy storage solutions to the Pacific Islands and South East Asia,” said Parry.

Miles pointed out that the Queensland goovernment’s 2022/23 State Budget included significant investment in battery storage.

“We’re rolling out 13 large-scale batteries across the state and investing A$15-million to scale up the National Battery Testing Centre (NBTC) in Brisbane,” he said.

ESI is among a number of companies which are using the NBTC for battery research and development.

“We’re also investing A$5-million to finalise and release a Queensland Battery Industry Development Strategy which is due out later in the year. The development of a responsible battery industry is paramount to Australia’s carbon-reduction efforts, which is why we are working on this comprehensive strategy to capitalise on Queensland’s battery minerals, mining expertise and manufacturing strengths.”

ESI is assessing plans for a second Queensland facility, most likely in either Townsville or Gladstone.

By 2026, ESI expects to have around 500 highly-skilled staff and contractors working across regional Queensland. The company intends to procure up to 80% of battery components within regional Queensland.