Concentrated solar power (CSP) developer Vast Solar and Nabors Energy Transition Corp. today announced an agreement for a business combination that would result in Vast becoming a publicly-listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. Founded in Australia in 2009, Vast’s proprietary CSP system uses a modular tower design and a unique sodium loop for…
By Peter Roberts Australian critical minerals producer Lynas Rare Earths has suffered a major blow with the renewal of the operating licence of its Malaysian metals processing plant – the biggest in the world outside China – in such a way that dooms part of the processing at the site to closure after July 1.…
By Peter Roberts How good is @AuManufacturing’s sister networking and discussion group, the Australian Manufacturing Forum on Linkedin? We founded the Forum in 2011 as a place where like minds – those of us excited about developments in Australian manufacturing and keen to work together to ensure its future – could come together in a…
CSIRO has unveiled a $25 million upgrade to its Myall Vale site in NSW with new purpose-built facilities to support cutting-edge cotton research. The upgrades include the newly-built Cotton Management Research Laboratory, which allows the precise pre-emptive monitoring of potential insect resistance and the measurement of crop nutritional status for improved management, as well as…
Researchers from RMIT University have developed a method of creating hydrogen directly from seawater, which is the subject of a provisional patent and a new article in the journal Small. According to a statement from the university on Tuesday, lab-scale tests have shown the process creates no carbon dioxide and no chlorine, the latter of…
A big jump in the volume of plasma produced by biotechnology giant CSL has created positive momentum for the Melbourne company as it continues its emergence from the global pandemic. The company reported a 36 percent increase in plasma collection in the first half – plasma collections sank during the pandemic as Covid restrictions affected…
CNC Design commissions super-sized printer for Zone RV CNC Design announced on Monday that it had “just commissioned one of our VSF composite 3D printer[s]” for caravan company ZONE RV. The investment in a giant cell — capable of 3D printing and five-axis machining parts up to 22m x 5m x 1.6m — was announced…
Graphene Manufacturing Group has announced “full and final approval” of its products under the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS), an agency within the federal department of health, allowing for a significant increase in production. The Brisbane-based and Toronto-listed company said on Monday that the approval covered coatings, automotive lubricants and the company’s graphene aluminium-ion…
By Hussein Dia, Swinburne University of Technology Four years ago, then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison famously claimed electric vehicles (EVs) would end the weekend. “It’s not going to tow your trailer. It’s not going to tow your boat. It’s not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot,” he said. His comments drew on…
By Peter Roberts BAE Systems and its Australian arm could be the front runner in the supply of nuclear-powered submarines to the Royal Australian Navy under the AUKUS agreement, according to UK media reports. The London Sun reported that senior ministers were open to the idea of supplying partly-constructed Astute class submarines (pictured) to Australia…