Construction begins on Australia's first iron flow battery hub

The Queensland Government has announced that construction has begun in Maryborough of Australia’s first large-scale iron flow battery manufacturing facility.

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 per cent renewables by 2030,” he said. “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.”

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,” he said. “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.”

Miles said the Queensland Government’s 2022–23 State Budget includes significant investment in battery storage.

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

ESI is an Australian-owned renewable energy company, and is already 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, further supporting regional business growth by supplying the state’s energy transition.

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