Palmer sold the site to Zero Carbon Investek and it intends to develop a solar farm and battery on the site and potentially manufacture phone and potentially car batteries, but would first need to spend about $US800 million on upgrading the facility Palmer bought from BHP for $1.

The QNI Yabulu plant was shuttered in 2016 and went into administration with the loss of 800 jobs in Townsville.

No price was disclosed, but Palmer has previously claimed it was worth $6 billion because of the cobalt riches that remained. The Australian was reporting a sale price of $2 billion, but that was not confirmed.

The QNI site, at Yabulu, has been in care and maintenance since its closure.

Palmer’s political party, the United Party of Australia, was also the beneficiary of a taxpayer payout revealed yesterday of just under $2 million. The payout from the Australian Electoral Commission was part of $76 million paid to political parties and independents to reimburse them for electoral expenditure in the 2022 federal election, equivalent to about $2.90 per vote.

Palmer had spent about $100 million on his campaign which netted a Victorian senate seat.

He said the the sale of Yabulu would bring enormous economic and and environmental benefits.

“I’m happy to announce this first class asset has found enthusiastic and expert new owners in Zero Carbon Investek,” Palmer said.

Palmer said Zero Carbon Investek was in advanced discussions with a number of globally significant strategic players who are seeking product offtake opportunities, alongside investment.

Palmer’s statement said that under Zero Carbon Investek, the refinery would directly employ approximately 800 staff, upon restart of operations, and many more during the construction period.

“To this end, in the longer-term, Zero Carbon Investek is hopeful that the site may unlock opportunities for new domestic industry, including battery or electric vehicle manufacturing,” Palmer said.

The Zero Carbon Investek syndicate is headed by Dr Richard Petty who said $US800 million would be spent enhancing the facility including transitioning to net zero carbon through the replacement of coal and gas fired steam and power generation with solar, saving up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

“Whilst the restart of the refinery is the key strategic priority, Zero Carbon Investek is also targeting the development of a large scale, 1.5Gw solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and battery storage facility at the refinery site to create new industry opportunities and sustainable environmental benefits,’’ he said.

“Reducing the carbon intensity of operations through the development of solar PV is a key priority for Yabulu moving forward.

It was claimed Zero Carbon Investek had agreements with leading researchers at some of the world’s top universities to develop the solar plant which would employ more than 50 people and would generate surplus grid scale power, which can be sold locally or interstate.

“The associated QBB plant will employ more than 50 people and will also allow sales in other states for domestic, industrial and grid scale power generation. We look forward to working with the people of North Queensland and relevant authorities to fully realise the potential of this world class asset,’’  Petty said.