GMG gets approvals to build graphene battery plant at Brisbane

Brisbane-based, Toronto-listed Graphene Manufacturing Group announced on Wednesday that it had the regulatory and council approvals needed to begin commercial-scale manufacturing of its novel batteries. To date the company has been working under R&D-level regulatory approvals to make battery cell prototypes. The announcement is the first about GMG’s batteries since June last year, when GMG…

Australian/UK team develop next-generation display screen technology

A team of researchers from Australian and UK universities has developed a proof-of-concept for “metasurface” technology, claiming strong advantages over LCD screens. The team from UNSW Canberra and the Australian National University, as well as the UK’s Nottingham Trent University, developed novel cells that are 100 times thinner and offer ten times the resolution –…

Australia’s energy market operator is worried about the grid’s reliability. But should it be?

By Dylan McConnell, UNSW Sydney The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) this week released an update to its annual assessment of reliability, the so-called Electricity Statement of Opportunities. This has been reported as the market operator forecasting “power shortages”, or the network being “at risk of supply shortages”. The market operator has certainly put up…

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Austin Engineering awarded $5 million for advanced manufacturing Perth mining equipment manufacturer Austin Engineering has been awarded a grant of up to $5 million from the WA government’s Investment Attraction Fund to boost advanced manufacturing capabilities at its Kewdale plant. The IAF seeks to bring investment, jobs and economic diversity to the state, increasing local…

Radioactive waste isn’t going away. We’ve found a new way to trap it in minerals for long-term storage

By Grant Douglas, CSIRO There are around 440 nuclear power plants operating in 32 countries around the world, supplying some 10% of the world’s electricity. Another 60 reactors are under construction, and 300 more are proposed. Australia has only one reactor, used for research and medical purposes. But Australia typically produces more than 5,000 tonnes…