The Government-owned Stanwell Corporation would build the Future Energy and Innovation Training Hub (FEITH) to “provide a sandbox to test out innovative new energy technology including wind, solar, hydrogen and battery storage”.

It follows on from a $26 million Townsville Vanadium Battery Manufacturing Facility and a $75 million critical minerals demonstration plant in the city.

The project would take about five years to develop and Stanwell chief executive Michael O’Rourke said the project would be a catalyst for advancing the energy transformation.

“It will increase our understanding of new energy technologies and their application in building Stanwell’s renewable energy portfolio and driving the development of Queensland hydrogen industry,” he said.

“And just as importantly, it will help us create the energy workforce Queensland needs for the future through hands-on skills development and training.”

The centre would have three purposes: commercialisation testing, research and development and training and education.

Stanwell said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Energy Storage Industries – Asia Pacific to establish an iron flow battery pilot project on site adjacent to Stanwell Power Station.

Twenty 12m-long batteries have been delivered to the power station to form 1MW/10MWh of energy storage – the first iron flow battery in Australia and the largest in the world. ESI owns the Asia-Pacific licence for the technology created by the US-based ESS. Inc.

The Iron Flow Battery pilot at SPS would test the viability of iron flow batteries for medium-duration energy storage (8-12 hours) and confirm the viability of deploying the technology at scale. The duration makes the batteries ideal for supporting and firming the electricity network during periods of high demand and low renewable energy generation.

Iron flow batteries use an environmentally friendly electrolyte solution to store and discharge electrical energy.

Stanwell will acquire the battery once it has been successfully commissioned and is aiming to deliver service and maintenance on the pilot.

Stanwell said it would also partner with Hysata to host a 5 MW pilot project to validate the commercialisation potential and technical performance of Hysata’s electrolyser technology.

Hysata is an Australian electrolyser company which is developing a completely new type of electrolyser, featuring the world’s most efficient electrolysis cell coupled with a simplified balance of plant. Electricity makes up most of the cost of green hydrogen and therefore, the most efficient electrolyser will deliver the lowest cost hydrogen.

Stanwell will provide $3 million and supply the site and facilities for the field deployment of the electrolyser at FEITH.