Plans to establish Australia’s first commercial-scale solar ingot and wafer manufacturing plant near Townsville in north Queensland are advancing with developer Stellar PV providing an early glimpse of the proposed 2 GW facility.
Image: Stellar PV
From pv magazine Australia
Australian firm Stellar PV has released a rendering of a 2 GW polysilicon ingot pulling and wafering facility planned for north Queensland as it continues to work through the feasibility and engineering design phase of the project.
The manufacturing plant, to be built at the Lansdown Eco‑Industrial Precinct about 40 kilometres south of Townsville, would produce high-purity monocrystalline silicon ingots and wafers – vital components in the global production of solar panels.
Sydney-registered Stellar said the project will support high-value solar manufacturing that turns Australian expertise and resources into globally competitive capability and provide an alternative supply chain for both global and domestic solar markets.
“This project represents a high-impact opportunity to localise one of the most value-creating stages of the global solar supply chain,” the company said. “As global markets increasingly prioritise secure, traceable and low-carbon supply chains, domestic silicon manufacturing will play an important role in Australia’s clean-energy and industrial future. The focus now turns to bringing this vision to life.”
Stellar said it will use the Czochralski method to manufacture monocrystalline silicon ingots, saying the technique produces superior crystal uniformity and purity, both of which are essential for building high-efficiency solar cells.
“By integrating automation and AI, Stellar PV will control key parameters such as temperature, pulling rate, and rotation speed in real time,” the company said. “This enhances process stability, reduces defects, and improves overall yield. The result is high-purity, uniform ingots that enable the production of premium solar wafers, forming the foundation for high-performance solar cells.”
Stellar, which was last year awarded AUD 4.7 million ($3.15 million) through the federal government’s AUD 1 billion Solar Sunshot program for the feasibility and engineering design phase, is aiming for production in late 2028, pending regulatory approvals.
Once operational, the facility is expected to support more than 300 jobs.
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