The federal government has announced $200 million in grant funding through the first round of the Powering the Regions Fund (PRF), awarded to upgrade steelmaking at BlueScope’s Port Kembla and Liberty Steel’s Whyalla sites. In a statement on Wednesday, the two grants were described as: $136.8 million to assist BlueScope with the reline and upgrade…
VSUN Energy has completed the manufacture of its first vanadium flow battery (VFB, pictured) at its Western Australian facility with factory testing being undertaken in Q1, 2024. The company, owned by vanadium producer Australian Vanadium, said the prototype residential battery has 5kWH of power and 15kWh storage capacity and would then be installed in a…
Exports were down 2 per cent by value to $1.9 billion and 3 per cent by volume to 607 million litres in the last calendar year, Wine Australia’s Australian Wine Export Report shows. The export figures, published by the federal agency on Wednesday, show an improvement versus the September quarter’s export report, though figures remain…
The New Zealand subsidiary of defence business EPE has been awarded a contract on reconnaissance and surveillance work for the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF.) According to a statement from Brisbane-based EPE, EPE New Zealand will deliver the Exensor Flexnet Remote Ground Sensor (RGS) system in collaboration with Bertin Exensor. The RGS system is described…
Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite has rejected media criticism quoting military sources that defence urgently needs to add killer drones to its arsenal to give Australian forces a fighting chance on the modern battlefield. Responding on radio Thistlethwaite said: “The Australian Defence Force is investing in new drone technology and I’ve seen that firsthand.…
Aluminium 4WD tray and canopy manufacturer Norweld has unveiled a new generation tray design (pictured) – the result of a 2.5 year investment in research and development worth $750,000. The Elite tray launch comes after Norweld’s most successful year to date, the company in 2023 opening two new purpose-built facilities in Brisbane’s north and Perth,…
The board of mineral producer Tivan has resolved to progress the Speewah Fluorite Project and has begun a pre-feasibility study following the completion of an internal assessment. Located in north-west Western Australia Speewah is the largest, highest grade vanadium in titanomagnetite resource in the world as well as housing an inferred resource of 27.2 million…
Cold cathode X-ray manufacturer Micro-X has demonstrated the micro-CT scanner for detecting strokes at the point of care, and passenger baggage scanner it is developing for the US Department of Homeland Security under a US$14 million contract. The Adelaide company said delivery of the first fully functional prototype of the CT baggage scanner from its…
The federal government has announced “up to $70 million” in funding to support development of the Townsville Region Hydrogen Hub in Queensland, with construction expected to be complete in 2026. In a statement on Tuesday, energy minister Chris Bowen said that “with its port, expertise in exports and access to Queensland’s abundant solar resources” the…
Aerial drones will be testsed as part of a federal government initiative aimed at supporting innovation and delivering capabilities for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). A total of 11 companies have signed contracts to provide a prototype of a drone, known as an uncrewed aerial system (UAS), for demonstration in April along with a production…
