Ashleigh Barraclough wrote this article.

The topic is AI.

The article was published on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 5:12 am.

It was updated on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 8:01 am.

Firmus Technologies is building an AI factory in Tasmania and plans to build two more.

In short, the company wants to use irrigation water.

Firmus Technologies said it wants to use water from Tasmania's irrigation scheme for its AI data centers.

Tasmanian Irrigation says it has not agreed to give water to Firmus.

What happens next is not clear.

Firmus has applied to build another AI factory, but the council needs more information.

The company accidentally posted a note on its website about using irrigation water.

Firmus Technologies is building an AI factory in St Leonards and plans to build two more.

The company has applied to build another AI factory in Wesley Vale.

AI factories need special equipment to work.

Firmus has been trying to address community concerns.

The company's CEOs are Tim Rosenfield and Oliver Curtis.

The company announced community meetings and posted answers to questions on its website.

It accidentally included information about water usage.

The company said it might use irrigation water, but did not want to say so yet.

Most of the water used for cooling will come from rainwater.

The company removed the information from its website after being contacted.

Tasmanian Irrigation says it has not agreed to give water to Firmus.

The company provides water to farmers.

The company's purpose is to supply water for agriculture and hydrogen production.

Any other use of the water would need to be approved by the government.

Firmus wants to build an AI factory in Wesley Vale.

The company said it did not mean to make the information public.

The company has not formally asked for irrigation water.

The company plans to use rainwater and on-site storage for the facility.

The company is discussing other water sources, but this is not its main plan.

The company may use water from trucks if it cannot get irrigation water.

Firmus has started building one AI factory and has applied to build two more.

The company says it only needs a little water for its AI factories.

The company says the Wesley Vale facility will use as much water as a restaurant.

The company's CEOs met with the Premier of Tasmania.

TasFarmers says irrigation water is for farming.

The CEO of TasFarmers, Neil Grose, said it would be unusual for Tasmanian Irrigation to supply water to a data center.

He said irrigation water is for irrigating farmland.

He said it would concern him if Firmus used irrigation water without talking to farmers.

He said farmers need to be confident of their water supply.

He said the only time Tasmanian Irrigation agreed to supply water to a non-agricultural user was for the Tamar Scheme.

He said this was carefully planned and farmers were consulted.

He said TasFarmers is open to talking to Firmus.

He said if Firmus invests in new infrastructure, it could be a conversation worth having.

There is more news from Tasmania.

Pratique d'écoute