Cashed-up Quinbrook reveals $8bn plan to kick-start Australian solar supply chain

The increasingly urgent mission to establish a solar supply chain in Australia has a new and cashed-up champion, with one of the nation’s biggest renewable energy investors revealing plans to build a polysilicon manufacturing facility on Queensland soil.

Australian-owned Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners announced its $8 billion plans to build the first ever Australian polysilicon production plant on Tuesday, alongside the news it has secured a place to build it – in Townsville, in Queensland’s north.

Quinbrook says it has been allocated a 200 hectare parcel of land at the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, which Townsville City Council is developing into an environmentally sustainable manufacturing, processing and technology hub.

Quinbrook proposes to use the Lansdown allotment to house a “state-of-the-art” polysilicon manufacturing facility, itself powered by a large-scale solar and battery storage project it plans to build on land adjacent to Lansdown.

The project would source high quality silica quartz from the North Queensland region, creating more than 1000 jobs in construction and operation.

Further, Quinbrook says it will partner with Solquartz, which itself has land set aside at Lansdown to develop a metallurgical silicon metal processing plant – a deal that would ultimately see Solquartz integrate its project into Quinbrook’s larger facility.

The deal marks a major milestone on the road to developing Australia’s own solar supply chain – the current complete absence of which is listed among the greatest threats to Australia’s huge solar ambitions.

Polysilicon is a basic building block for solar panels and the global shortage in supplies of the vital ingredient, experienced at the height of the global Covid pandemic, was a stark reminder of Australia’s complete dependence on overseas markets.

A major report from the CSIRO last year mapped out how Australia could develop a domestic silicon and solar cell supply chain, from mining through to manufacturing, to support and de-risk its rapid shift to renewables.

The report said that while silicon was abundant in Australia in the form of quartz, currently this is shipped overseas – predominantly to China – where it is smelted to silicon, then to high purity silicon. Around 70 per cent of silicon is produced in China, while China also dominates the production of polysilicon.

Quinbrook believes it can be a contender in the polysilicon market, however, and says its Lansdown project has the potential to rank amongst the greenest in the world, thanks to its access to low-cost renewables and locally sourced silica quartz.

“Lansdown is close to the source of some of the best silica quartz resources in the world and it has the land and site infrastructure we need to build a truly state of the art manufacturing facility that will be powered by renewable energy,” Quinbrook senior director Brian Restall said on Tuesday.

“Close proximity to the port and multiple transport corridors make it a very compelling location for energy intensive, export driven ‘green’ manufacturing.”

The pressure is on for Quinbrook to make good on its plans, too, with the conditions of the land allocation – awarded through a council-run competitive tender – subject to a strict timeline to develop the project and to contribute to the precinct’s shared infrastructure.

Gathering together the $8 billion to fund the project will be among the first big tasks, and David Scaysbrook – Quinbrook’s managing partner and co-founder – might be already on the job; he was overseas and unavailable for comment on Tuesday.

RenewEconomy is seeking more information on the expected volumes of polysilicon production from the proposed Quinbrook project.

Professor Renate Egan, who leads the UNSW’s activity in the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics and has 20 years experience in solar cell manufacturing says the $8 billion figure offers a promising sign that the project is aiming high enough to succeed.

“The silicon refining processes are the kind… where an economy of scale makes sense. So it will be a big investment,” Egan told RenewEconomy on Tuesday.

Egan, who is a strong advocate for an Australian solar supply chain, says Quinbrook’s move into polysilicon production shows investors are backing the continued growth of the already booming global solar market.

“It’s definitely exciting. It’s… a commitment to a renewable energy future that is anticipating continued growth in investment in solar and a commitment from Quinbrook that … they’re backing the large-scale deployment of solar.

“I really think it’s something we can do,” Egan adds.

“There’s a local market, but there’s also potential for export markets, because the rest of the world will be looking for diversity in supply of silicon as well.”

Townsville mayor Jenny Hill says Quinbrook’s dual role in the project as developer and funder offers some assurance that “the money is on the table” from a proven international investor.

“Quinbrook had developed and is actively constructing several of the largest solar and battery storage projects ever undertaken in the US and the UK representing billions of new infrastructure investment,” Hill said on Tuesday.

“Once the right operating partner is chosen by the company, the project can move forward at a rapid pace, subject to the normal government approvals.”

And that might be a speedy process too, with the Lansdown Eco Industrial Precinct declared a project of state significance in March this year by Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles.

Restall says Quinbrook’s existing “strong relationships” with leading solar and battery manufacturers have laid the foundations for a ready market for the Australian made polysilicon to be made into finished solar modules and batteries.

“We’re looking forward to working with Townsville locals to manufacture green polysilicon right here in Queensland and make this a leading example of Australia’s green superpower potential,” Restall said.

“Our aim is that Quinbrook will ultimately purchase that equipment for our global power generation projects with total confidence in the supply chain that produced them. This is a ‘win win’ outcome.”