LAVO Advanced Manufacturing Facility: Inside plans to build hydrogen battery facility in Augustine Heights

The facility will need 35 workers once it gets up and running, with Springfield City Group working in partnership with a Sydney tech outfit. Here’s all the details.

Plans for the LAVO Advanced Manufacturing Facility have been submitted to Ipswich City Council for approval.

The masterminds behind Springfield have submitted plans to build a $20 million manufacturing facility which will produce fuel cells for hydrogen batteries and require 35 workers to staff the site.

Springfield City Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Sydney tech outfit LAVO earlier this year.

Now the developer has lodged a development application to build the LAVO Advanced Manufacturing Facility on land it owns on Gateway Drive in Augustine Heights.

Springfield City Group is seeking approval to build the facility on land on Gateway Drive in Augustine Heights.

The two-storey facility will involve the manufacture and assembly of hydrogen fuel cells with the final construction of hydrogen batteries to happen at another site.

Approval is being sought to build the factory, a warehouse and an office over 4798 m2.

The site will need 15 admin staff and another 20 workers for assembly and logistics.

“Access to the site is provided the established Success Circuit via an appropriately dimensioned industrial crossover,” the application noted.

“A permanent hydrogen storage container is included within the development as an ancillary component, located within the secure storage yard, and has been determined to not present potential for environmental hazard or risk and will be designed and operated in accordance with relevant Australian standards.

SCG chairman Maha Sinnathamby, deputy chairman Bob Sharpless and LAVO CEO Alan Yu.

“The proposed industrial land use achieves a high quality visual presence with an activated frontage outcome to Success Circuit through a glazed ‘shop front’ element that seeks to highlight and showcase the advanced clean room manufacturing and assembly activities on the site.”

The application noted the batteries will be mainly used for solar panels.

“These units are generally intended for domestic and commercial level electricity storage connecting to solar PV arrays on rooftops to provide continuous and backup power,” it noted.

“The LAVO Advanced Manufacturing Facility will involve the delivery of relevant components for the assembly of completed hydrogen fuel cells, and dispatch of these completed fuel cells offsite for final battery construction.

The factory would need 35 workers.

“Delivery and dispatch will be undertaken through the use of 20ft and potentially 40ft shipping containers delivered by AV design vehicles.”

SCG chairman Maha Sinnathamby said in February the facility was expected to be built in early 2022.

“LAVO has the first and only commercial-ready hydrogen energy storage system in the world designed for everyday use by residential homes and businesses,” he said.

“We will work closely with LAVO to identify co-development opportunities, including the integration of LAVO technology into utility scale solar farms developed in Springfield City.

“LAVO’s technology has a storage capacity three times greater and a lifetime more than two times longer compared to market alternatives.”

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.

Originally published as LAVO Advanced Manufacturing Facility: Inside plans to build hydrogen battery facility in Augustine Heights