Manufacturing awards celebrate innovation as industry calls for greater support

As @AuManufacturing prepares to deliver our 2025 Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers report this week, Simran Gill gives a wrap-up of the recent awards event. There are also video interviews from the day with Rux Energy, the Smartcrete CRC, Allegro Energy, Advanced Navigation, the Australian Business Growth Fund, Mapei Australia, and Australia Wide Engineering.  Australia’s…

Emesent scanners help map Central Coast sewers

A claimed world-first remote sewer inspection has been carried out by Central Coast Council, using a remote-controlled buggy developed by American engineering firm KBR and CSIRO spinout Emesent. According to a statement from KBR on Thursday, a custom-built remote-controlled vehicle (ROV) recently completed its first mission, scanning over 640 metres of sewer pipe between Terrigal…

MicroBioGen, Lesaffre announce exclusive worldwide licensing and collaboration deal on industrial yeast technology

Sydney-based industrial biotechnology company MicroBioGen has struck a deal with French research and bioengineering group Lesaffre, initially focussing on baking, food and biochemicals. According to a statement from the pair on Thursday (Central European Time), the deal involves a “worldwide exclusive license and collaboration agreement” combining MicroBioGen’s expertise in yeast biotech with Lesaffre’s “bioengineering and…

Samsara Eco, lululemon announce ten-year offtake agreement on recycled nylon, polyester

Enzymatic recycling startup Samsara Eco and sportswear company lululemon have built on a partnership first announced in May 2023, announcing a ten-year offtake agreement that “could see” Samsara’s material “support approximately 20% of lululemon’s overall fibres portfolio”. The news follows R&D work that has resulted in the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product sample…

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Rockwell survey finds ANZ manufacturers affected by “technology paralysis”, life sciences benefiting from AI  The 2025 State of Smart Manufacturing (SoSM) Report from Rockwell Automation, released last week, surveyed 1,560 manufacturers from 17 countries (including 85 organisations in Australia and New Zealand) and has found the local health and life sciences sector leading AI adoption.…

A reversal in US climate policy will send renewables investors packing – and Australia can reap the benefits

By Christian Downie, Australian National University President Donald Trump is trying to unravel the signature climate policy of his predecessor Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of a sweeping bid to dismantle the United States’ climate ambition. The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, is a A$530 billion suite of measures that aims to…

Robotics company Contactile says new grant will help it get a grip globally

Sydney-based robotics company Contactile has been awarded a Commercialisation and Growth grant under the federal government’s Industry Growth Program. According to a statement from the company on Wednesday, the recent grant will support commercialisation of “a next-generation robotic gripping system that endows robots with a human sense of touch”, launching the gripper into Australian, European,…