Australia hasn’t figured out low-level nuclear waste storage yet – let alone high-level waste from submarines

By Ian Lowe, Griffith University Within ten years, Australia could be in possession of three American-made Virginia-class nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement with the United States and United Kingdom. The following decade, we plan to build five next-generation nuclear submarines. To date, criticism of the deal has largely focused on whether our unstable geopolitical…

Enabling design for environmental good reports examine what’s needed in circular economy shift

A series of reports released on Thursday outline a roadmap for Australia’s circular economy transition, which is still in its early stages, and highlight the importance of design in this. Enabling Design for Environmental Good was commissioned by the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.  RMIT project lead and Associate Professor…

Applications open for green hydrogen project grants of up to $70 million

Applications have opened for the federal government’s Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program ­– Townsville, with eligible consortia invited to apply for matched grants worth between $30 million and $70 million aimed at stimulating investment in the region. Guidelines for the grants were released in January by the federal government, which has cited Townsville’s port facilities, workforce…

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Australia’s AI momentum examined A new report prepared by Forrester Consulting and released by the National AI Centre (NAIC) has identified the potential of AI for Australian businesses as well as current implementation challenges. Australia’s AI Ecosystem Momentum report took feedback from over 200 business decision-makers and AI service providers. The top three benefits were…

If we perfect cultivated meat, we could hedge against food shortages as climate chaos intensifies

By Bianca Le, The University of Melbourne It didn’t get much attention when US President Joe Biden launched a biomanufacturing initiative last September. But it should have. Biomanufacturing is about harnessing nature’s factories – cells – to make just about anything. That includes food. As Biden pointed out, biomanufacturing could boost food security at a time when…

AIM Defence buys high-altitude drone company NearSat

AIM Defence, a company specialising in applications using directed energy and artificial intelligence, has acquired high-altitude long-endurance drone maker NearSat, in a move that AIM says brings together complementary technologies and sees it “bucking the trend of innovative Australian companies being taken offshore”. In a statement on Monday, AIM said it represented a “natural fit”…