Positive signs major battery factories could be built at two Qld sites

Plans for a new plant which would employ 250 local workers have been revealed as Queensland’s former manufacturing hub continues to make a comeback.

A concept image from the Sword and Stone proposal which is currently before the Department of State Development.

A deal to draw a major battery builder to Maryborough’s manufacturing hub is all but sealed, the Fraser Coast Chronicle can reveal.

According to documents currently before the Department of State Development, renewable energy companies Sword and Stone and ESS Inc are in the process of establishing a joint venture to manufacture, distribute and operate Iron Flow Batteries in the state.

They are said to be in the “advanced stages of evaluating the operating model that will trigger sites in Maryborough and then Townsville”.

The Chronicle understands at least $4 million out of the Works for Queensland budget will be committed to the industrial park at Maryborough’s Moonaboola Estate in coming days to lay the foundation for the first project.

A satellite image of the Moonaboola Industrial Estate – GOOGLE MAPS

According to the documents the factories are expected to achieve $320m in gross output per facility at full capacity in product delivered on a year on year basis by year two with a $98m per year spend on local procurement per facility also by year two.

In the initial stages the Maryborough factory would support 125 jobs, increasing to 250 workers at peak operation.

Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders confirmed a lot of “behind the scenes” work had gone into wooing the firms behind the project to the Fraser Coast which is experiencing a resurgence in Queensland’s former manufacturing heartland of Maryborough.

Should it go ahead, the battery factory’s neighbours would include the $60 million Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions plant and Hyne Timber’s Glue Laminated factory.

The shell forge at the Rheinmetall Nioa Munitions factory in Maryborough. Photo: Stuart Fast

Maryborough is also on track to build the state’s Cross River Rail train fleet and there are plans for a $2billion wind farm in the nearby Tuan Forest.

Mr Saunders said he expected the Department of State Development to support the battery proposal given it was the kind of renewable energy project the state and region was trying to attract.

“It’s good for Maryborough and it’s good for Queensland,” Mr Saunders said

“I have been backing this and I expect state development to back this … I am expecting a favourable outcome.

“This would not only bring new jobs but different kinds of jobs which are sustainable in the future and will help kids stay in the area when they finish school.

“The company is committed to working with high schools to ensure there’s a skilled workforce here locally.”

(L) State Member for Maryborough Bruce Saunders and CEO of Hyne Timber, Jon Kleinschimdt

Executives behind the project have recently been seen visiting the Fraser Coast and are understood to have met with the mayor, council CEO and council senior staff.

When contacted about how negotiations were progressing, the council confirmed it could not yet respond and a request from the Chronicle to Sword and Stone for more information went unanswered.

It’s understood applications for funding from various government departments are still underway.

The positive partnership with the council is however referenced in the state development documents.

“We will manufacture to meet Australian, Pacific Nations and eventually SEAsian demand,” the documents read

“Queensland Government via State Development and TIQ, Fraser Coast Council and Townsville City Council have been integral in attracting this to the state.”

Once the Maryborough factory is up and running, plans are also expected to progress for a second factory in north Queensland.

According to its website, S & S is “committed to an orderly transition to a sustainable electricity grid, delivering reliable dispatchable renewable energy to meet customer demand while enhancing grid stability”.