iLAuNCH announces two new projects with energy tech company entX

The Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications and Hypersonics (iLAuNCH) Hub has announced new partnerships between University of South Australia, University of Southern Queensland and Adelaide-based energy technology company entX. iLAuNCH announced two projects on Tuesday, with UniSA and entX (previously PhosEnergy) first focussing on the flow of thermal energy to ensure spacecraft can survive…

Rediscovering our ability to spin a yarn

The textile industry still exists in Australia, but it’s misunderstood and strengthening it will be essential in addressing environmental and social problems. Brent Balinski speaks to Meriel Chamberlin, founder of Full Circle Fibres. “TCF” is a peculiarly Australian, bureaucratic category for a misunderstood, thrown-together collection of industries, believes Meriel Chamberlin. “That is such a vast,…

The world stills sees Australia as only a source of resources – by Jeffrey Lang

The latest Harvard Kennedy School Economic Complexity Index (ECI) rating has seen Australia’s ranking plummet to 93rd, placing us between Uganda and Pakistan in the bottom third of monitored nations for economic complexity. Here Jeffrey Lang points to the root of the nation’s industrial problems. The problem is Australia’s sovereign capabilities is centric to still…

Harvest B to begin exports with NZ distro deal

Plant-based ingredient company Harvest B has announced a new distribution agreement with New Zealand’s Dunninghams, which will lead to the first exports for the start-up manufacturer. Dunninghams is a privately owned, fourth-generation family company supplying ingredients and other products to butchers and food manufacturers across NZ.  In a statement on Tuesday, Harvest B said Dunninghams…

PharmAust to wind up Epichem following DNDi contract loss 

Clinical-stage cancer therapeutics company PharmAust has announced that it is putting wholly-owned subsidiary Epichem, a contract research organisation, into voluntary liquidation. In a statement on Tuesday, ASX-listed PharmAust explained that a big contributor to Epichem’s success was a long-standing research contract with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi.) This was not renewed past March this…

Viral room-temperature superconductor claims spark excitement – and skepticism

By Mahboobeh Shahbazi, Queensland University of Technology Last week, a group of South Korean physicists made a startling claim. In two papers uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, they say they have created a material that “opens a new era for humankind”. LK-99, a lead-based compound, is purportedly a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor. Such a material,…

All pain and no gain in Victoria’s gas ban – by Jon Seeley

Gas manufacturers have reacted strongly against moves by Victoria to ban new gas connections. Here Jon Seeley, whose company manufactures the Braemar range of gas appliances and Seeley air coolers, attacks the decision for driving up emissions. The Victorian Government’s foolish and short-sighted ban on gas in new homes will only push emissions higher and…