Townsville City Council and Quinbrook-owned project company Solquartz have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance the Northern Quartz Campus at the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, which would be Australia's first integrated quartz-to-silicon manufacturing precinct.
The Northern Quartz Campus is expected to create up to 1,200 jobs across construction and operations. The purpose-built facility will process Australian quartz into higher-value silicon materials used in solar PV, semiconductors and other advanced technologies.
The MoU establishes a pathway to finalise a Project Development and Infrastructure Agreement by the end of the year. This agreement would set out the Council's infrastructure delivery obligations and Solquartz's contribution to infrastructure costs for the project's first stage.
The Northern Quartz Campus was declared a 'Prescribed Project' by the Queensland Minister for State Development and Infrastructure in 2024 and was awarded Major Project Status by the Australian Government in February 2026. The designations recognise the project's economic, social and strategic significance to Townsville, Queensland and Australia. The project is expected to commence commercial operations by 2030.
The MoU marks another key step in the development of the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, which is expected to support several thousand jobs in high-value advanced manufacturing around 40 km south of Townsville.
Quinbrook is also progressing its co-located Supernode North Battery Energy Storage System project at Lansdown. The long-duration battery project is intended to provide reliable, flexible power to support energy-intensive, low carbon manufacturing while helping unlock additional grid capacity across the broader precinct.
Quinbrook Senior Vice President Vignesh Bandi said the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct presented a unique opportunity to combine renewable energy and storage infrastructure with downstream manufacturing and critical mineral supply chains to create greater economic value for North Queensland.
"Our ambition for Lansdown extends beyond any single project. The Northern Quartz Campus, Supernode North and our renewable energy projects are complementary investments that can help establish Townsville and North Queensland as a hub for energy-intensive advanced manufacturing," he said.
"We see a compelling opportunity to combine Queensland's renewable energy and natural resources to build more of the value chain here at home and manufacture higher-value products for domestic and global markets."
"Townsville City Council deserves credit for the vision and investment behind the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct. Industrial projects of this scale depend on enabling infrastructure, government support and private capital working together. This MoU is an important step towards turning that shared ambition into investment and jobs."
Mayor Nick Dametto said the MoU confirms a shared commitment between Townsville City Council and Solquartz and marks an important step towards finalising Lansdown's first Project Development and Infrastructure Agreement.
"After years of planning and groundwork, Lansdown is moving from concept to construction, with Solquartz now a step closer to getting shovels in the ground," Cr Dametto said.
"This is a clear sign that real projects are moving ahead and investment is turning into action at Lansdown."
Assistant Minister for North Queensland and Member for Mundingburra Janelle Poole said the progress on the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct was a show of support for the region's capabilities.
"North Queensland has a long history of punching above its weight economically and the development of the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Project will help to drive the next phase of growth and expansion in Townsville's economy for years to come," she said.
Designed as a staged and scalable industrial precinct, the Northern Quartz Campus is planned as a staged and scalable industrial precinct integrating renewable-powered metallurgical silicon production with associated processing. Using Australian quartz and renewable energy, the project aims to produce higher-value silicon products for domestic and international markets, with the potential to support downstream manufacturing including solar wafers and semiconductor chips.
