Mount Isa Mayor Peta MacRae has issued an urgent plea to state and federal governments to secure a deal saving the Mount Isa Copper Smelter and Townsville Refinery, warning 17,000 jobs are at risk as mining giant Glencore prepares to mothball operations. The desperate intervention on Wednesday follows Glencore’s confirmation it is preparing to place…
Forget expensive laboratory equipment costing thousands of dollars – University of Queensland researchers have cracked the code for a DNA analysis device you can literally print at home for the price of a decent dinner out. The Do-It-Yourself Nucleic Acid Fluorometer, cheekily dubbed DIYNAFLUOR, transforms genetic research from an exclusive club into a garage-friendly hobby.…
Adelaide-based X-ray technology company Micro-X has entered into a supply agreement with an unnamed US with “over 700 healthcare facilities” to provide the Rover Plus mobile radiology system. According to a statement on Wednesday, Micro-X’s customer is one of the “largest and most established” healthcare organisations in the US, with “a nationwide network of hospitals,…
A local market too small for meaningful sales of a highly-specialised product. Overseas copycats. Prospects interested yet stuck on the notion that “it’s too good to be true.” TNA Solutions saw a set of problems familiar to many early-stage Australian businesses setting out with an interesting bit of technology. Their breakthrough invention, launched in 1985,…
Australia’s innovation system is constrained by a persistent failure to translate world-class research into industrial capability and commercial outcomes. Drawing lessons from the German city of Kaiserslautern and its transformation through Fraunhofer Institutes, Dr John Howard and Peter Moar argue that Australia must have applied research institutes dedicated to bridging the gap between universities and…
Bygen appoints new CFO Waste-to-value startup Bygen has announced Michael Macrides as its new Chief Financial Officer. According to a Linkedin update from the company — which is commercialising its processing technology for turning waste products into activated carbon — Macrides brings extensive experience as a VC investor, advisor and executive across various roles. “With…
Clean technology companies MGA Thermal and Knode have cracked the code for Australia’s largest industrial-scale thermal energy storage project, promising to transform how heavy industry heats up, according to an announcement on Monday. The massive 180 megawatt-hour “thermal battery” will pump out 20 tonnes per hour of clean, high-temperature steam to Western Australian industrial sites.…
Australia’s energy technologies have received their annual report card, and renewables are still the class champions whilst nuclear small modular reactors remain firmly planted at the bottom of the cost league table, according to CSIRO’s latest GenCost report released on Tuesday. The comprehensive study found wind and solar backed by storage and transmission continue to…
Approximately $62 million has been awarded across 13 new Training Centres and Research Hubs through the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Research Program (ITRP.) According to a statement from ARC on Tuesday, the funding will help “drive innovative research to advance Australian industry and research capability.” Six Industrial Transformation Research Hubs were funded, including: $3,693,326…
The federal opposition has called a rejection of a senate inquiry into the nation’s troubled metals manufacturing industry an “extraordinary move”. According to a joint statement from five MPs and senators, the government used its numbers to “arrogantly block” a motion from senators Susan McDonald and Matt Canavan on Monday, with the proposed inquiry to…