The Miles Labor Government’s $25 million investment in local long-duration energy storage company Energy Storage Industries (ESI)- Asia Pacific has attracted an additional investment of $40 million from a UK-based investment fund in support of the development of Queensland’s iron-flow battery manufacturing industry.
The latest manufacturing plant is based in Maryborough and is set to be Australia’s first manufacturing plant for grid-scale batteries, hosting the manufacturing of iron-flow batteries for long duration energy storage.
The investment seeks to capitalise on the emerging flow battery technology: A new battery technology with the potential to supply longer duration energy storage as long as 14 hours, making it crucial to ongoing global efforts towards decarbonisation and transitioning to clean and renewable sources of energy.
“Through investments like this we meet our own future clean energy storage needs and take advantage of the massive export opportunities,” said Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Cameron Dick.
“By partnering with local industry and attracting private capital, Queensland is well-placed to seize the incredible opportunities presented by the world’s decarbonisation.”
The investment is part of the ongoing 5-year Queensland Battery Industry Strategy that began early this year. It builds upon the $50 million Quest HUB Project.
With provided support, Queensland’s battery industry is estimated to generate $1.3 billion for the economy, alongside 9,100 clean economy jobs by 2030.
“Maryborough has a proud manufacturing history, and this investment ensures there will be manufacturing jobs in Maryborough for years to come,” said State Member for Maryborough Bruce Saunders.
Early works have commenced at the Maryborough site which will have created up to 273 full-time jobs when fully operational by mid-2029.
ESI will be scaling up its capabilities using technology licenced from Oregon-based ESS, Inc.