Startup Graphite Energy has started building the first stage of a renewable agriculture facility in central New South Wales. The AUD 29 million ($19.0 million) facility is a collaboration between Graphite Energy and Cygnus AG.

Graphite Energy does not appear to have been on the scene for very long, but it says it has developed a proprietary thermal energy storage system for the decarbonization of industrial and manufacturing operations. It is not clear yet how this technology will work within the facility, but presumably it will store solar energy.

Graphite Energy said the facility includes 5 MW of solar to be combined with “multiple forms of integrated energy storage,” as well as batteries, thermal energy storage for heating, cooling and drying, and hydrogen for diesel substitution.

The project aims to be a replicable pilot for Australia and abroad to demonstrate how renewable energy and agriculture can coexist, “using industry advancements to enable renewable energy sources without forgoing farmland,” said Graphite Energy.