Photonic hardware pioneer PsiQuantum has officially broken ground and commenced construction on its utility-scale quantum computing facility at Moreton Bay Central in Petrie, Queensland. Backed by a joint $940 million (AUD) investment from the Australian Federal and Queensland State governments, the strategic site represents a pivot from the company’s originally planned location at the Brisbane Airport Industrial Park. By anchoring its Asia-Pacific operations on the repurposed site of the former Petrie Paper Mill, PsiQuantum leverages large-scale, pre-existing industrial utility networks, allowing the California-based enterprise to bypass infrastructure bottlenecks and accelerate its deployment roadmap.
The master build is architected to house tens of thousands of specialized silicon-photonic chips, which will be networked together using standard telecommunications optical fiber. To cool this massive array of optical components, the initial construction phase prioritizes site preparation for a colossal, custom industrial cryoplant manufactured by Linde Engineering. Ordered in late 2024, the cryoplant will be one of the largest specialized low-temperature cooling platforms ever constructed for quantum applications and is scheduled for final delivery in the second half of 2027. Once commissioned, the cryoplant will provide the deep cryogenic baseline necessary to stabilize and read out the quantum states of the massive networked processing cluster.
The facility sits within a rapidly developing precinct that is slated to host multiple events for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. By co-locating alongside the University of the Sunshine Coast’s (UniSC) Moreton Bay campus and a future TAFE Centre of Excellence dedicated to advanced manufacturing, the project is designed to seed a long-term, self-sustaining deep-tech talent pipeline. To support sub-system verification ahead of the master facility’s completion, PsiQuantum also finalized the opening of its Test and Validation Lab at Griffith University’s Nathan campus in Brisbane, providing local engineers with a high-powered cryogenic testing platform to refine chip architectures before volume deployment at the primary Moreton Bay hub.
The official, synchronized groundbreaking announcement from PsiQuantum can be reviewed here. For an expanded operational overview detailing the initial site assessment, regional utility grid commissionings, and the historical pivot away from the Brisbane Airport zone, check the regional deployment profiles hosted by PsiQuantum here.
June 17, 2026
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