New industries bring Collie to centre stage in global markets

Collie has once again proven it has outgrown its former reputation as a dirty old coal mining town, adding several greener feathers to its cap recently. Private investment into the region’s new industries, green energy and innovative research projects has been further prompted by the State Government’s commitment of $1 million to investigate the potential for Collie to host a renewable energy hub. If the economic case can be made, the crowning glory would be construction of Australia’s biggest battery — four times the size of South Australia’s Tesla battery. On the final frontier, the town is helping cement WA as a leader in Australia’s growing space sector after construction began this month on LeoLabs two radars in Collie, which will track satellites and debris in low Earth orbit. Other new additions include a revolutionary $20 million medicinal cannabis facility being built, with works soon to begin on Quantum Medium’s lab for world-leading water filtration technology, and on International Graphite’s vertically integrated graphite refinery, which will produce vital raw materials for the global battery market. Earlier in April Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan took a tour with the region’s industry leaders and Collie-Preston MLA Jodie Hanns to see some of the town’s world-leading projects. “It makes sense for Collie, which is at the heart of the South West energy system, to become a renewable energy industrial hub as we transition away from the coal industry,” Ms MacTiernan said. “Our aim is to make sure this town of Collie, the people of Collie, their homes and their opportunities remain here as we go forward. “Collie has been at the heart of the South West interconnected grid for a century. As a result of that it has some amazing transmission infrastructure, making this an incredibly suitable area for a battery like this to be able to utilise all of that transmission capability bringing power in and out.” Sitting shotgun on the tour was renowned Australian economist and energy expert Ross Garnaut, who will lead the hub study through his green-energy think tank Sunshot Energy, via the $1 million from the Collie Futures Industry Development Fund. Mr Garnaut’s report, due to be completed within 12 months, will detail not only the material feasibility of the battery hub, but the business case as well. “We’ll be talking in detail to the businesses who will use the energy,” he said. “This region also has a very big advantage in producing batteries, because most — if not all of the materials required — are made or can be made in the region.” Ms MacTiernan was confident the study would bring knock-on benefits to the region as a whole. “I don’t think there would be any other town that, in such a short space of time, is going to see the emergence of so many new 21st century industries, Ms MacTiernan said. Heading these emerging industries is Cannaponics, a medicinal cannabis producer building a 3600sqm greenhouse on its 65ha property in the back blocks of Collie. The project will use 100 per cent renewable resources with subsidiary CannaEnergy building a 25,000sqm solar and hydrogen gas turbine electrical power micro-grid on the site, complete with rainwater harvesting technology. About 50 jobs have been created during this construction phase and a further 24 permanent jobs will be created once production can begin. Cannaponics chief operating officer Damien Wood said the $2 million grant as part of the State Government’s Collie Futures Industry Development Fund was vital. “What we see now is our project literally being built from the ground up. Without that support we wouldn’t have been able to fast-track this project,” Mr Wood said. The company predicts an annual output of 7000kg of dry cannabis flour, which will be turned into medicine, as well as resin which will be used to treat pain, sleep disorders, anxiety and other medical conditions. The 2000sqm manufacturing facility is due to be ready by mid-2022, ready to take part in Australia’s growing medicinal cannabis market, set to represent $1.2 billion by 2027. But it is not out with the old and in with the new, the unique convergence of energy, industry and community drawing interest from industry stalwarts. Quantum Filtration Medium had been producing one product for more than 20 years, a locally-mined silica sand product created through chemical infusion technology. After receiving a grant from the Collie Futures Fund, the Vasse-based company built a new laboratory and employed two full-time engineers in Collie, fuelling the creation of three new products for the global market. Quantum recently secured a contract for its DMI-65 filter media with one of the biggest copper mines in the world in Peru, and is exporting its products to global giants such as Coca-Cola. “With the assistance of the next part of the larger Collie Futures Fund grant we are going to build a much larger factory to help sustain us moving forward in the future and provide economic benefit to Collie,” Quantum Filtration Medium general manager James Glaskin said. Among those optimistic about Collie’s future is local member Ms Hanns, who said she was grateful for the support from the Government, which was already helping attracting new visitors, residents and industries. “There’s an incredible amount of optimism and opportunities here,” she said. “There is also opportunities for those young people to stay in town, to stay in the community. “Your sporting groups benefit from this, your volunteering in your community grows, because people are here in town and putting back into the place where they live.”