Townsville City Council is actively managing the tender and allocation of land in the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct.
Land parcels have been conditionally allocated to several proponents through an ongoing tender process.
To ensure transparency and competitiveness, Townsville City Council has established an open call to tender process for land within the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct.
The tender is formally listed as TOW00240 and is accessible through Council’s procurement platform VendorPanel.
A quarterly evaluation process assesses proposals regularly and keeps momentum going across the year.
In addition to formal tenders, proponents can also submit a Registration of Interest – this acts as a precursor to a full submission and allows Council to begin early engagement and guidance.
This approach ensures that Council is attracting high-quality proposals and giving proponents a clear and structured pathway to participate in the precinct’s development.
Council uses a clear and structured evaluation framework in assessing tenders to ensure alignment with the precinct’s vision and long-term goals.
The three key areas for assessment are:
This evaluation process ensures Council selects proponents who are aligned with Council’s strategic goals and capable of delivering real outcomes for the region.
Formal agreements are then negotiated for successful tenders using a framework designed to provide clarity, structure, and accountability for both Council and the proponent.
Together, these agreements form a comprehensive commercial framework that supports project delivery, protects Council’s interests, and ensures alignment with the precinct’s strategic objectives.
Council continues to work with all proponents to bring their proposed developments to fruition and unlock the jobs and economic stimulus they will provide to the Townsville region.
This process means there will be a range of proponents at different stages of development at any one time.
Current proponents seeking to develop projects in the Precinct include:
Fuel cells and green hydrogen
Aosun Energy plans to develop a manufacturing facility at LEIP to produce fuel cells and green hydrogen. Major products will include a range of different fuel cells, hydrogen refuelling systems and the onsite production of green hydrogen.
After the manufacturing facility is completed, Aosun Energy will be able to provide a fully integrated fuel cell and power system solution, including the supply of green hydrogen to serve customers across Australia.
Aosun Energy will establish their base in Townsville with investment focused on green energy products to support zero emissions and climate goals.
Green hydrogen production facility
With a DA-approved large-scale (1GW) green hydrogen facility, as well as a behind-the-meter solar photovoltaic and battery storage facility within the LEIP, Edify will have the capacity to meet the domestic and export needs for this emerging emission-free fuel.
The LEIP will be an integral part of Australia’s first environmentally sustainable advanced manufacturing, technology and processing hub. The facility’s green hydrogen will meet the urgent need domestically and across the world for this emission-free fuel. Investment in green hydrogen will create new industries, boost business and future-proof careers.
Edify, in partnership with Siemens Energy, has conditionally secured grant funding through the Australian – German HyGATE initiative. A joint initiative between ARENA, and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the funding was awarded due to the project’s advanced stage of development and planned innovative technology, namely the advanced electrolyser plant with integrated behind-the-meter renewable energy generation.
In addition, Edify has successfully secured grant funding through the Australian Government’s Regional Hydrogen Hubs program for the development of Townsville’s Green Hydrogen Hub. The Australian Government is contributing $48.2 million to Edify’s green hydrogen production facility in the LEIP, creating new energy supply chains and connecting supply and demand.
Battery Innovation Centre Australia
Energy Development Corporation Pty Ltd (EDC) has selected LEIP as the site for its new battery cell manufacturing facility, Battery Innovation Centre Australia Pty Ltd (BICA).
BICA has secured the necessary land at LEIP via a highly competitive process. LEIP has been selected due to its location and proximity to both regional rare earth minerals and lithium mining, proposed mineral processing facilities, together with rail, road and sea transportation hubs.
BICA is currently funded through development stage in partnership with investors from Singapore, transitioning over 20 years of experience in the design and manufacture and marketing of battery cells globally, into the Australian market.
Initially, BICA will produce Lithium-ion, Sodium-ion battery cells with Solid State cells coming online by 2029. BICA is targeted to commence production by Q4 2027 and will sell product into the Australian domestic market as well as to global clients. BICA will produce over 1.2 million battery cells per day by 2030, delivering over 3.4GW of battery cells/annum into various markets.
The facility is designed to provide maximum flexibility with respect to the actual battery cell design and chemical composition and will utilise the very latest in robotics and automated systems. The facility will provide around 200 full-time jobs during construction (2027), and 260 up to full-time jobs across two shifts, when in full production, circa 2030.
By 2030, BICA will be fully Australian owned and managed, contributing significantly to a sovereign battery manufacturing industry in Australia. BICA will establish the NQ Renewable Energy Campus, working in partnership with other industry proponents, universities and TAFE, with a focus on transitioning knowledge and skills in energy storage solutions to the Australian renewable energy industry.
Ultra-high purity quartz sand processing facility
High Purity Quartz Ltd (HPQ) plans to develop a significant solar PV grade, ultra-high purity quartz sand (UHPQS) processing facility at Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, using ore from a quartz resource near Forsayth in Queensland. The facility will represent the only integrated UHPQS facility outside the two market incumbents producing from a single resource at Spruce Pine, NC, USA. Once fully ramped up, the plant is targeted to supply 25% of global demand for UHPQS.
As a potential secondary income stream, and in collaboration with others at LEIP, HPQ will also potentially supply quartz for production of metallurgical grade silicon (MG-Si) smelter and refinery. This will only happen where its quartz does not meet the purity requirements for feedstock into the planned UHPQS facility. UHPQS and MG-Si are the two critical material inputs to potentially facilitate green-tech solar PV wafer and module manufacturing in Townsville. If the MGSi project does not progress, it will not impact the feasibility of the UHPQS facility, which will progress regardless of other planned projects.
HPQ has successfully completed its Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), which shows technical feasibility and strong project economics. HPQ secured an Australian Government grant under its flagship Critical Minerals Development Program (CMDP) to fund 50% of the PFS costs.
DFS/FEED early-stage works are currently underway alongside plans to develop a Pilot Plant facility in Townsville to inform process optimisation, test third party quartz and to onshore the skills necessary to operate the main UHPQS facility, once built.
In conjunction with the LEIP Advanced Processing Facility, HPQ has plans to establish a pre-processing facility in Mount Garnet with both sites offering high-tech, full-time employment across a range of highly skilled disciplines to create long-term value for the communities in Townsville and regional Queensland. The Advanced Processing plant at LEIP will procure process chemicals from a reginal chemical company providing a significant incentive for further economic development locally. The mining will be undertaken by a regional mining contractor, further supporting economic value in the region.
Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) Project
The TECH Project is being developed in response to the growing demand for electric vehicles, particularly nickel and cobalt. Once operational, the project will be a world-leading zero waste, carbon negative, sustainable, clean and green production facility, employing up to 1,400 people during construction and approximately 350 when operational.
The project is backed by world-class shareholders, including South Korean Companies LG and POSCO and US industrial giant General Motors (GM). Combined, the 3 companies have contributed and committed over $125 million of equity funding, with GM alone having committed $108 million. All three manufacturers have invested to secure their share of nickel and cobalt to power electric vehicles.
In January 2024, the TECH Project was granted $16 million in funding, split equally between the Commonwealth and the State Government. This is supporting Queensland Pacific Metals to complete the Bankable Feasibility Study. Work has commenced on bench scale test work with pilot test work planned for mid-2026. Completion of the Bankable Feasibility Study is expected in early fourth quarter 2026.
Northern Quartz Campus
As the global demand for both solar and computing power continues to increase, North Queensland has an opportunity to harness its natural resources and climate to make resilient, ethical and sovereign value-add materials for the low-carbon and digital economy.
The Northern Quartz Campus comprises a series of integrated biochar, metallurgical silicon and polysilicon production facilities, which will combine to create Australia’s first integrated solar and semi-conductor silicon supply chain solution, designed to produce and use sustainably sourced plantation wood and low carbon power to convert Queensland-mined quartz into high purity silicon products.
The first stage is Supernode North, a long duration battery energy storage system of up to 780 MW, which will establish the electrical infrastructure required to transmit, distribute and firm electricity from co-located solar farms to power the production facilities.
The Northern Quartz Campus was declared a ‘prescribed project’ by the Queensland Minister for State Development and Infrastructure in 2024 and is expected to commence commercial operations by 2030.
After its full development, the Northern Quartz Campus is expected to create over 2,000 permanent jobs in and around Townsville. The production facilities will operate for at least 30 years, helping create exciting and meaningful career opportunities for the people of Townsville.
The Northern Quartz Campus is sponsored by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a specialist energy transition infrastructure investor founded by two Queenslanders, David Scaysbrook and Rory Quinlan and supported by Quinbrook’s affiliate enterprise and dedicated energy and infrastructure development, delivery and operations partner, Private Energy Partners, which is headquartered in Brisbane.
Solquartz, Quinbrook and PEP are focused on helping deliver a cleaner energy future in ways that deliver real and sustainable community benefit and minimise potential impacts.
