Project Southgate Tasmania: FAQs

Wesley Vale has a long-established industrial history, most notably as the site of the former Wesley Vale Pulp Mill. The locality remains zoned General Industrial and Utilities, reflecting its ongoing role as an industrial and infrastructure precinct.

TasNetworks owns and operates major electricity transmission infrastructure in proximity to the site, including the adjoining Wesley Vale substation. This makes Wesley Vale a suitable location for an initial connection at 26 MW, using existing industrial electrical infrastructure without disrupting local distribution networks.

Firmus is also investing in upgrades to the Wesley Vale substation to support a future 26MW connection once those works are complete. During the interim connection period, our electricity use will be managed under agreed operating conditions, including reducing demand when required to support network security and protect existing electricity users in the area.

The site is accessed via Mill Road, an existing industrial access arrangement connecting to Port Sorell Road and the wider regional road network, including Devonport and the Bass Highway. The surrounding agricultural land also provides separation from sensitive uses. After careful assessment of sites across Tasmania, it was a clear choice.

The Wesley Vale site is being delivered in two stages: an initial stage of approximately 26 MW, growing to maximum approximately 52 MW of capacity (23 MW critical IT load, growing to maximum of approximately 46 WM). That scale exists to train and run frontier AI models, which require sustained computing power.

The site will draw power from the grid, which in turn is fed largely by hydro, wind, and solar power — just like other major industries in the region. The project will connect to high-voltage transmission infrastructure in proximity to the site.

There will be no impact on residential supply. By becoming part of the grid as a new baseload user, Firmus' site will help to support long-term investment in clean energy.

As with our other Tasmanian sites, the facility is designed to be dispatchable, meaning it can schedule and manage its electricity demand to support grid conditions. During periods of energy scarcity or system constraint, the site will reduce its electricity use to help ease pressure on the grid and protect supply for households, essential services and other industries that cannot easily reduce their demand.

Firmus is also supporting new renewable energy projects in Tasmania to offset the site's electricity use over time.

There will be no impact on residential supply. The development is subject to finalisation of energy supply arrangements which are currently being negotiated. These agreements will support development of new generation supply into Tasmania to support the site's usage requirements.

A very limited amount of water is used. The AI Factory is designed to operate without using any water for cooling on most days of the year. Water is only used for cooling on hot days which, based on local weather data, happens for only a small number of days per year in this region.

This equates to predicted water usage for cooling on a limited number of days a year — on days above 26°C. The rest of the year we use dry cooling only. Rainwater harvesting and on-site storage are proposed as the primary water solution for the facility and have been designed to meet the project's operational requirements. Discussions regarding any supplementary water sources are separate to that primary strategy and relate to resilience and contingency planning.

At its full capacity of 52MW, the facility will use around the same water as one Australian restaurant uses each year.

Firmus' AI factories are designed specifically for artificial intelligence, which requires a different kind of infrastructure to conventional data centres.

By designing the power, cooling, and computing systems together — rather than retrofitting AI hardware into older buildings — we can run more efficiently and significantly reduce both energy and water use compared to traditional data centres.

We use the Firmus HyperCube, a proprietary electrical and cooling system. It uses liquid cooling to remove heat more efficiently than traditional air-based systems, allowing higher performance with lower energy use and minimal water.

The building's form, materials and finish have been selected to minimise visual prominence within both the surrounding landscape and the established industrial context. Precast concrete at lower levels, combined with dark, vertically textured cladding and screened rooftop plant, reduces reflectivity and limits visual contrast when viewed from surrounding land and longer-range vantage points.

The data hall is around 8.5 metres tall and the total building height including rooftop plant is around 15 metres — presenting as a low, horizontally expressed form consistent with the surrounding industrial precinct. The site sits on previously modified industrial land and doesn't require significant earthworks.

The facility is accessed via an existing industrial access road extending from Mill Road, which also provides access to nearby electricity infrastructure — no new access point to the external road network is needed. Mill Road connects directly to Port Sorell Road, providing efficient access to the wider regional road network, including Devonport and the Bass Highway.

Day-to-day traffic will be shift-based staff commuting, plus routine service vehicles, similar to other industrial facilities in the area. More than 25 car spaces will be provided on-site. Occasional heavy vehicles will access the site during construction and for equipment installation, testing and replacement, but this is infrequent.

Firmus is committed to having a positive impact on the local community and economy. This includes providing opportunities for local employment and skills development.
During construction, the Wesley Vale project will employ around 70 local civil, electrical, and trades contractors, along with contractors based off-site supporting fabrication and major equipment production.

Once stage 1 is operational, the AI Factory will support a permanent local workforce of more than 20 people full-time. These are ongoing, skilled roles spanning technology operations, maintenance, security, energy management, engineering, and administration, with the facility operating around the clock across three shifts.

Many of these roles are directly transferable from existing industries, including technicians, electricians, security, groundskeeping, and building maintenance. Others provide opportunities for workers in adjacent trades and technical fields to retrain and transition into long-term careers supporting advanced digital infrastructure and AI operations.

Firmus has operating infrastructure in Singapore and Australia with multiple AI Factories underway in Australia.

All Firmus AI Factories use liquid-cooled HyperCube technology. In Singapore, the system uses immersion cooling compatible with local conditions. In Tasmania, Firmus will use direct-to-chip liquid cooling for next-generation NVIDIA platforms — designed to be multi-generational, supporting evolving AI hardware over the next decade and beyond.

Firmus is an Australian technology company that designs, builds, and operates energy-efficient AI Factories. The company commenced operations in Tasmania as a research and development operation about seven years ago and now operates AI Factories in Australia and Singapore, with multiple more underway.

Yes. Firmus is an Australian-incorporated company that began operations in Launceston in 2019. Our headquarters are in Australia, while our Singapore operations are conducted through a subsidiary of our Australian parent company.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is technology that helps computers analyse information, recognise patterns and solve complex problems. It is already supporting advances in healthcare, medical research, education, transport, agriculture, energy management and many everyday services. AI can help people make faster, better-informed decisions and develop new solutions to important challenges.

Please reach out to community@firmus.co and we'll be in touch.