A $10 million investment has been made by the Queensland Government to create an “Australian-first” commercial-scale vanadium electrolyte facility in Townsville.
The project will use vanadium sourced from Julia Creek, operated by QEM in the North West Minerals Province of Queensland, and is set to support nearly 600 jobs across the state.
Early works for the project are scheduled for 2026 and operations are planned to begin in 2028.
Julia Creek has one of the world’s largest vanadium deposits, boasting a JORC-compliant resource of 2.87 billion tonnes at an average grade of 0.31 per cent vanadium.
The Townsville facility will anchor a pit-to-port product manufacturing chain, supplying vanadium flow batteries for global energy storage markets, the Queensland Government said.
In partnership with Vecco Group and Idemitsu Australia, the investment shows the Queensland Government’s determination to turn Queensland’s mineral abundance into jobs and export opportunities, employment minister Ross Bates said.
“After a decade of decline, in the last ten months, we’ve gotten on with the job of delivering greater opportunities for Queensland businesses on the world stage,” he said.
“Queensland has the resources the world needs, and the Crisafulli Government is making sure those resources deliver jobs, trade, and prosperity for our regions.”
This sentiment is echoed by Vecco Group managing director Tom Northcott, who noted the project will position the state as a “leader in meeting the world’s rapidly growing” demand for energy storage.
“With the support of our partners, Vecco is uniquely positioned to integrate mining and manufacturing, leveraging our expertise in critical minerals to strengthen the downstream supply chain in Queensland,” Northcott said.
“The transformative Vecco critical minerals project will create hundreds of regional jobs, and we thank the Queensland Government for their confidence and support.”