Construction has commenced on a $70 million, state-of-the-art big battery manufacturing centre in Maryborough, which is expected to generate hundreds of jobs across the region.
The facility is being developed by Energy Storage Industries – Asia Pacific (ESI), an Australian-owned, fully integrated renewable energy company.
ESI expects to have around 500 highly-skilled staff and contractors working across regional Queensland by 2026. It also intends to procure up to 80% of battery components within regional Queensland.
Managing Director Stuart Parry said the facility would manufacture iron flow batteries for large-scale energy storage targeted toward “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 megawatts of energy storage each year,” Mr Parry said.
“Within 15 years we expect to be able to supply 6 gigawatts of energy storage – or the equivalent of 20 per cent 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.”
ESI is currently reviewing plans for a second Queensland site, most likely in Townsville or Gladstone, even as construction on its first facility gets underway.
