Today our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – turns to the critical importance of leadership from governments and business leaders in reversing the innovation slump. By David Martin of Ai Group. Leaders have the responsibility to shape the future of their firms by identifying opportunities and strategically aligning the…
@AuManufacturing turns today in our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – to one of the bright sparks in the innovation scene – the development of a research-based space industry. By Xavier Orr. Australia’s space sector has skyrocketed in the past two decades. As of 2008, Australia was the only…
The Australian and Queensland Governments will invest almost $1 billion into frontier technology company PsiQuantum to build the world’s first fault tolerant quantum computer in Brisbane. The investment follows decades of investment by governments in quantum computing research which has established a healthy science based start up sector, however the size of the investment is…
Satellite manufacturer Space Machines Company has announced a joint Indian-Australian mission on space debris management, supported by an $8.5 million grant from the Australian government. SMC, which bills itself an “in-space servicing firm”, announced “Space MAITRI” (मैत्री, or Mission for Australia-India’s Technology, Research and Innovation) on Tuesday, saying the joint industry-led mission will “demonstrate progress…
By Andrew Blakers, Australian National University As Australia’s rapid renewable energy rollout continues, so too does debate over land use. Nationals Leader David Littleproud, for example, claimed regional areas had reached “saturation point” and cannot cope with more wind and solar farms and transmission lines. So how much land is needed to fully decarbonise energy…
Perth marine engineering firm VEEM and propeller developer Sharrow Marine are to advance to manufacture of a new type of propeller designed for inboard motor propulsion. The two companies have replicated for inboard motors the advances made by the original Sharrow propeller which eliminated cavitation in traditional propellers. Now the US and Australian company have…
Textile technology developer Xefco has raised $10.5 million in its latest funding round led by Australian deep technology fund Main Sequence Ventures backing its technology to reduce textile emissions. Xefco has been commercialising its patented water-free textile finishing and dyeing solution, Ausora, aiming to create a greener supply chain for the fashion industry. Other new…
Faltering business expenditure on R&D is a major factor in Australia’s poor innovation performance. Today in our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – Dr John Howard identifies businesses’ failings. This is an edited excerpt (full paper link below). From 1981 to 1995, Australian businesses made steady progress in lifting…
Energy technologies developer 1414 Degrees has announced it has acquired exclusive rights to a new method for producing net zero hydrogen from natural gas. The invention by the University of Adelaide (UoA) is the subject of an international patent application. The rights are in addition to rights acquired in January, also from the UoA, for…
By Hendri Yulius Wijaya, The University of Melbourne and Kate Macdonald, The University of Melbourne Around the world, more and more companies are publishing sustainability reports – public scorecards detailing their impacts on society and the environment. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports outline the positive and negative effects of a company’s activities, and the…