Composites manufacturer Quickstep is to manufacture an initial run of drone cargo aircraft for European cargo airline Dronamics. The Bankstown, Sydney company announced a contract worth up to $5.5 million to manufacture 10 of Dronamics’ Black Swan fixed-wing aircraft which are able to transport 350 kg at a distance of 2,500 km The unmanned aerial…
With the federal government moving to reform its economic advisory body, the Productivity Commission, attention has turned to the outcome of the PC’s decades-long dominance of policy advice to the government – a fragile and narrowly-based resources-driven economy. Here, Phillip Toner and Roy Green outline why the PC must be fundamentally changed. As federal Treasurer…
ASX-listed semiconductor company BluGlass has used the SPIE Photonics West industry conference in San Francisco to release their first collection of gallium nitride (GaN) laser products. In an announcement on Monday morning (Sydney time), BluGlass said the six products newly-available to commercial customers range across the 405, 420 and 450 nanometre wavelengths and had passed…
Coles has opened round 11 of its Nurture Fund, which has been running since 2015 and offers grants of up to $500,000 for manufacturers and primary producers to assist development of “new market-leading products and sustainable processes and technologies.” According to a statement from the company on Monday, companies must have fewer than 50 full-time…
Concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) company Vast Solar, and the Solar Methanol Consortium have been selected to receive $19.48 million (EUR13.2 million) from an Australian-German collaboration fund, HyGATE, to develop a world-first green methanol demonstration plant, SM1 in Port Augusta in South Australia. Methanol is the most versatile hydrogen derivative which, if produced using clean…
ABT reveals new sales to Glencore and BHP Advanced Braking Technology has revealed new sales of its failsafe heavy vehicle braking systems to mining companies Glencore and BHP, as part of an activities report to shareholders. The Perth company said sales for Q2 FY23 were up 50.8 percent on the previous corresponding period to $3.96…
A lucky find by researchers could help Australian efforts to scale up the number of qubits on their microchips. Brent Balinski spoke to Dr Will Gilbert from Diraq about computing with puddles of electrons, and his unusual career so far. As Dr Andre Saraiva explained on this website last November, Australia has some globally-recognised strengths…
What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to this site were reading. 5) 2023 WILL DECIDE IF THE CALIX PROCESS CAN UNLOCK ZERO EMISSION STEEL Steel makers are looking towards net zero with hydrogen produced from renewable sources the world’s best bet on decarbonising this essential industry. Here, in an…
By Peter Roberts Perth international shipbuilder Austal has won new work in the US submarine construction field, opening the way for it to become a component supplier to future Aukus nation submarine builds. In a brief announcement Austal said it had been awarded a time and material contract by General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) for…
Intermodal terminal offers safety, environmental benefits: federal, Victorian governments On Friday the federal and Victorian governments welcomed private sector investment to build and operate a $400 million intermodal freight terminal in Melbourne’s north. Intermodal Terminal Company (ITC) announced it will soon start construction of the Somerton Intermodal Terminal, which will be a key node in…