Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, September 8 – September 12, 2025

What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading.

5) Conflux Joins Honeywell-led hybrid-powered aircraft R&D consortium

Additively manufactured heat exchanger specialist Conflux Technology has joined the Honeywell-led TheMa4HERA consortium, a project focussing on thermal management for hybrid-electric regional aircraft.

According to a statement from Conflux, the clean aviation project TheMa4HERA (Thermal Management for Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft) aims to develop “advanced thermal management systems and architectures for next-generation hybrid-electric regional aircraft, with scaling activities for the short-medium range aircraft.”

4) Evimien Energy aims to commercialise new hydrogen peroxide reactor

A startup is aiming to commercialise a desktop-sized device invented at University of Queensland and able to make the “workhorse chemical” hydrogen peroxide from water and air.

According to a statement from UQ on Tuesday, its commercialisation vehicle Uniquest has licenced the device to Evimien Energy, which hopes to change production for an industrial chemical that has been made in much the same way since the 1930s.

“Hydrogen peroxide is a workhorse chemical, used globally across industries every day,” said  Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa.

3) Manufacturing is about quality and robots – not cheap wages

Following the launch of a new campaign by the Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance aiming to “challenge outdated stereotypes” attached to manufacturing, Professor Beth Webster and Dr Alexander Gosling focus on some common misconceptions about what drives competitiveness in the industry.

2) New campaign attempts to correct dated perceptions of manufacturing

The Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance – one of the federally-appointed Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) – has launched a new campaign aiming to “challenge outdated stereotypes” attached to the industry.

According to a statement from MISA on Tuesday, its Make It ManuFACTuring campaign hopes to communicate the possibility of a modern, “future-focused” career in the industry to young people.

1) Government signs $1.7 billion, five-year contract with Anduril on Ghost Shark

The federal government will spend $1.7 billion to acquire a new fleet of Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles, signing a contract with Anduril Australia for delivery, maintenance and continued development over the next five years.

According to a statement from defence minister Richard Marles and defence industry minister Pat Conroy on Wednesday, the fleet will complement the Royal Australian Navy’s future surface combatant fleet and upcoming nuclear‑powered submarines. The undersea craft is designed for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations, “stealthily and at long range”.

The federal government under former prime minister Scott Morrison entered into a collaborative contract with Anduril in 2022, and approximately $140 million has been invested in developing the Ghost Shark platform, payloads and production facilities since then.

Picture: credit Anduril