Gladstone set to be first in Australia for production of sapphire glass

A Queensland company will become the only facility in the nation to turn alumina into glass for smart watches and phones.

A Gladstone company will become the only facility in the nation to turn alumina into glass for smart watches and phones.

Treasurer Cameron Dick, Manufacturing Minister Glenn Butcher and Alpha HPA managing director Rimas Kairaitis announced the exciting Australia-first production of high quality manufactured glass product sapphire glass on Thursday.

Sapphire glass is most commonly used in smartphones, watches, and LED lighting.

An estimated four tonnes of sapphire glass will be entirely manufactured at the Yarwun facility annually using high purity alumina.

Treasurer Cameron Dick spoke about the Queensland Government’s funding into critical minerals.

Mr Kairaitis said that while the product the Gladstone facility would create only made up a small percentage of the world market, there was still an interest in the quality.

“The material we’ll be making here is of a very high quality; even though it’s less than one per cent of the sapphire glass produced worldwide, it will still be a sought-after and luxury product,” he said.

Alpha HPA announced their mission to sapphire glass manufacturing.

The State Government will fund two purpose-built furnaces used to ‘grow’ sapphire glass at Alpha HPA through its $100 million Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund, managed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).

QIC CEO Kylie Rampa said there was a looming shortage of natural sapphire glass in the market and growing demand for more energy conscious manufacturing processes, making it an attractive opportunity to enter a fast-growing market.

The commissioning of the project is set to begin in early 2024, and will continue to support full-time jobs at the facility.