Gilmour Space Technologies has announced a rideshare launch mission into low earth orbit (LEO), planned for early 2024 and dubbed “Australia’s first caravan to space.” In a statement on Monday, the rocket builder said that the Caravan-1 mission would provide affordable access to launch into a mid-inclination orbit, and the option to customers of a…
In episode 17 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Steve Layton of Layton Corporation. The chat was recorded at last Friday’s Good Design Awards. EmTech, a division of Layton’s company, won Gold for Product Design at the awards for its Enviro Hide product. Enviro Hide is made from recycled leather and has…
By Peter Roberts A year on from the cancellation of contracts with French Naval Group to build conventionally powered submarines in Adelaide, and the announcement of the Aukus agreement, the shape of future submarine construction is taking shape. With neither the US or the UK having the capacity to build extra submarines for Australia despite…
School of Chemical Engineering researchers at University of NSW Sydney have developed a new process able to additively manufacture electrolytes using inexpensive printers, an achievement they say might be applied to future medical products. According to a statement from the university, the resulting solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) have high conductivity and robust strength. One of…
Curious about what the most popular stories of the week were? Here’s what visitors to this site were reading. 1) AUSTRALIAN TEAM FINDS RARE, INCREDIBLY HARD DIAMOND IN SPACE ROCKS Research published on Tuesday and led by Monash University might lead to the production of novel, ultra-hard diamonds with usefulness in industrial applications. The team…
A University of Southern Queensland nanomaterials researcher is among Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellows announced this week, with Dr Lei Ge awarded $813,000 to develop electrochemical conversion technologies to convert carbon dioxide into chemicals and fuels. Ge (pictured) is based at USQ’s Centre for Future Materials. He said in a statement on Friday that…
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is backing construction of one of the world’s largest green hydrogen production plants, announcing conditional approval for a $47.5 million grant towards ENGIE’s renewable hydrogen and ammonia project near Karratha in Western Australia. The $87 million Yuri project includes a 10 megawatt (MW) electrolyser to produce renewable hydrogen, 18…
By Peter Roberts A six month surge in the share price of Perth international shipbuilder Austal is likely attributed to a big new US Navy shipbuilding contract and the fact Fortescue boss Andrew Forrest has been quietly buying up shares and now owns a 15 percent stake in the company. While other similar companies’ share…
Hopes are rising, including from Tesla chair Robyn Denholm, that Australia can revive automotive manufacturing by producing electric vehicles. Here Peter Roberts visits one company that is advancing plans to electrify – Ausev. From the outside the factory looks much like any other along the main road through Brendale in Brisbane’s outer northern suburbs. But…
International Graphite has successfully commissioned its new pilot scale graphite micronising and spheroidising equipment at its downstream processing facility at Collie in Western Australia. Graphite has a wide range of uses including battery anode material (BAM), while refractory materials account for 43 per cent of global consumption. Executive chairman Phil Hearse said: “This is a…
