Construction has begun on Australia’s first, large-scale iron flow battery manufacturing facility as Queensland aims to include 50% renewables in its energy mix by 2030.
The AUS$70 million ($47 million), state-of-the-art battery manufacturing centre in Marlborough, Queensland is being developed by Energy Storage Industries – Asia Pacific (ESI).
ESI will manufacture and distribute iron flow batteries for energy storage system projects such as wholesale electricity generators, energy retailers, and commercial and industrial customers.
The company intends to procure up to 80% of battery components within regional Queensland.
The Queensland firm expects the centre to be operational by 2024 and within two years be able to deliver 400MW of energy storage each year— rising to 6GWh within 15 years.
ESI director Stuart Parry said: “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.”
ESI is assessing plans for a second Queensland facility, most likely in Townsville or Gladstone— with Townsville featured on a “operations’ drop down menu on the firm’s website
Queensland’s battery ambitions
Last month, Queensland announced plans to deploy around 500MWh of battery energy storage capacity.
Queensland’s Palaszczuk government’s 2022-23 State Budget included investment in 13 battery storage systems across the state and will invest $15 million to scale up the National Battery Testing Centre (NBTC) in Brisbane.
ESI is among a number of companies which are utilising the NBTC for battery research and development.
Of the 13 ESSs on includes a 200MW/400MWh system, which is being built by state-owned generator CS Energy at the Greenbank sub-station on the south-side of Brisbane.
