Work Begins On WA’s First Advanced Manufacturing And Renewables Hub

Earthworks has commenced on the WA Government’s $55 million Advanced Manufacturing Technology Hub, the state’s first dedicated precinct for advanced manufacturing, technology, and renewable energy. The Department of Energy and Economic Diversification will release a request for proposal for an anchor tenant in July, opening the project to private operators.

The hub, known as AMTECH, will be situated roughly 180 kilometres south of Perth, on industrial land near Bunbury. Development WA is overseeing construction of the anchor tenant site, the first stage of a precinct the government wants to grow into a shared-infrastructure base for local manufacturers. The anchor tenant will work closely with the State, to manufacture the parts needed to support the energy transition away from State-owned coal. WA has committed to closing its government-owned coal stations by 2030, and the scale of grid hardware required to replace that generation is substantial. 

The project is one piece of the government’s broader Made in WA agenda, which leans on a $1 billion Strategic Industries Fund to activate industrial land across the state. The South West Development Commission’s feasibility work, completed in June 2024, flagged uses beyond grid components, including critical minerals downstream processing, battery supply chains, and decommissioning. The business case has since modelled staging options and industry partnerships, with on-site education and training facilities part of the long-term design.

For founders and operators in cleantech and advanced manufacturing, the relevant detail is the shared-infrastructure model. AMTECH is being pitched as common-user infrastructure rather than a single-occupant factory, which lowers the capital barrier for smaller manufacturers wanting to plug into energy-transition supply chains without building a site from scratch. 

TAFE is already building the skills needed

Since clean energy and advanced manufacturing courses at South Regional TAFE were made low-fee in 2020, enrolments in the Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician have risen 75%, and the Certificate III in Engineering — Mechanical Trade has risen 59%. Those are the workers the precinct will need to thirive.

“Local manufacturing is good for jobs, good for businesses and good for our State’s economy,” Energy, Decarbonisation, and Manufacturing Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said, adding that the investment in TAFE and apprenticeships was meant to let local workers capture clean-energy work.

“That’s why the Cook Labor Government is investing in a future Made in WA, by delivering projects like the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Hub to support and increase our advanced manufacturing and renewable capabilities.”

“We want local WA workers to take advantage of the clean energy transition and advanced manufacturing opportunities which is why we are investing in TAFE, training and apprenticeship opportunities.”