Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-08-31 Origin: Site
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and the Townsville City Council have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the Northern Quartz Campus, a major silicon materials manufacturing project planned for Queensland, Australia.
The A$7.8 billion ($5.1 billion) project is planned for the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct and aims to become Australia’s first integrated manufacturing facility covering the process from quartz sand to silicon materials.
Developed through Quinbrook’s project company Solquartz, the campus is expected to process Australian quartz sand into high-value silicon materials for solar photovoltaics, semiconductors and other advanced technologies.
The project could create up to 1,200 jobs during construction and operations, with commercial operations targeted for 2030.
The latest agreement is expected to pave the way for a formal Project Development and Infrastructure Agreement by the end of 2026. The agreement will define the council’s infrastructure responsibilities and Solquartz’s contribution toward infrastructure costs for the first stage.
Quinbrook said the project will combine renewable energy, energy storage and advanced manufacturing, highlighting the importance of coordinated infrastructure, government support and private investment for large-scale industrial developments.
The Northern Quartz Campus is also being developed alongside Quinbrook’s Supernode North long-duration battery storage project at Lansdown.
The storage facility is intended to support energy-intensive manufacturing and help unlock additional grid capacity in the industrial precinct.
If completed as planned, Northern Quartz Campus could strengthen Australia’s domestic solar and semiconductor supply chains while positioning Queensland as a new hub for energy-intensive advanced manufacturing.
