Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has completed construction on the first stage of its Supernode battery energy storage system (BESS) in Queensland, Australia.
The global sustainable energy infrastructure investor confirmed that the 260MW/520MWh first stage of the Supernode project has been completed and achieved its first energisation.
The facility is now connected to Queensland’s electricity grid and the broader National Electricity Market (NEM) through the South Pine substation in the heart of Brisbane, the state capital.
The NEM is the wholesale electricity market and physical power system that supplies electricity to Australia’s eastern and south-eastern states, excluding Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
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Quinbrook’s milestone represents the initial phase of what the organisation describes as a “transformational energy infrastructure development” that will deliver 780MW of battery storage capacity across three stages.
Located adjacent to the central node of Queensland’s electricity transmission network, the Supernode facility occupies a strategic position where approximately 80% of the state’s electricity flows daily. This positioning enables the battery storage system to provide critical grid stability services and support renewable energy integration across the NEM.
Quinbrook CEO Brian Restall confirmed the company’s ongoing collaboration with Powerlink for all future Supernode project phases and expressed satisfaction with the initial 260MW stage’s progress. This progress aligns with delivery commitments made to Origin Energy, their offtake partner for the first two project stages.
“Today’s achievement is a testament to our close collaboration with Powerlink and marks the initial realisation of our larger ambition to create an innovative energy infrastructure campus that is both significant in scale and beneficial in its impact for the Queensland power grid,” Restall added.
The offtakers of the Supernode BESS
As previously reported by Energy-Storage.news, the first stage of the Supernode BESS operates under a long-term offtake agreement with Origin Energy, providing grid services and energy storage capabilities to support the retailer’s renewable energy portfolio.
Quinbrook secured this arrangement as part of the project’s initial development phase, establishing a foundation for the facility’s commercial operations.
Construction of stages one and two received significant financial backing through AU$722 million (US$477 million) in debt financing closed by Quinbrook in January 2025.
The financing package, arranged through a consortium including Bank of America, Commonwealth Bank, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho Bank, and MUFG Bank, supports the development of a combined 520MW/1,856MWh capacity across the first two project phases.
The second stage, featuring 260MW/1,000MWh capacity, remains under construction and is expected to be completed sometime in 2025. This phase will double the facility’s energy storage duration capability, providing enhanced grid services and renewable energy firming capacity for the Queensland electricity market.
Quinbrook has also secured arrangements for the project’s third stage through a 1,010MWh offtake agreement with Stanwell Corporation, Queensland’s government-owned energy generator.
This agreement, announced in April 2025, will bring the total Supernode capacity to 780MW/3,074MWh upon completion of all three development phases, making it one of the largest BESS in Australia.
Deployment of the EnerQB energy storage solution
The Supernode project will feature Quinbrook’s EnerQB battery energy storage technology, which was developed in collaboration with CATL.
The EnerQB technology was specifically designed by CATL for Quinbrook’s long-duration energy storage (LDES) requirements and offers extended discharge capabilities that bridge the gap between traditional battery storage and pumped hydro systems.
The 8-hour duration capability of EnerQB technology enables the system to provide sustained energy discharge during extended periods of low renewable energy generation, addressing one of the key challenges in Australia’s transition to renewable energy.
Quinbrook plans to deploy approximately 3GW of EnerQB technology across Australia, equivalent to 24GWh of storage capacity, with the Supernode project serving as the initial deployment site.
The technology’s extended duration capabilities make it particularly suitable for applications requiring sustained energy delivery, including data centre operations and grid services that extend beyond traditional battery storage timeframes.
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