Defence and Babcock have signed a contract to provide the Australian Defence Force with “an enhanced high-frequency communications system” to support regional and global operations. In a short statement from defence industry minister Pat Conroy on Friday, the news was called “a major boost to Defence’s strategic high-frequency communications capability”. Conroy said the federal government…
Victoria aims for 95 percent green power by 2035 The Victorian government will restart the former state-owned State Electricity Commission as a 51 per cent owned public enterprise if re-elected, reversing privatisation. The plan is for the new SEC to create 4.5 gigawatts of power to replace lost capacity when Loy Yang A coal-fired power…
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced support for two new dispatchable electricity projects on Friday, involving the use of thermal energy and compressed air to store and release energy. On Friday the federal government agency announced $422,582 in support for a feasibility study at AGL Energy’s Torrens Island Power Station B in South Australia.…
By Ryan H. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea A new type of material can learn and improve its ability to deal with unexpected forces thanks to a unique lattice structure with connections of variable stiffness, as described in a new…
The Innovative Manufacturing CRC and Australian Postgraduate Research Intern (APR.intern) program have announced the successful fulfillment of a partnership that began in 2019 and delivered 23 PhD student internships, with nine students securing ongoing employment at their host companies. The three- to six-month internships were sponsored by the IMCRC – which is finishing its work…
Vast Solar has announced the successful design, manufacture and test of its next-generation heliostats and solar receivers at its Goodna, Queensland prototype facility, in a development it says will precede “full-scale manufacturing plants in Australia that will employ dozens of skilled workers.” In a statement on Thursday, the company – which has sites under development…
Professional body Weld Australia has advised urgent action to address a predicted shortfall of 70,000 welders by 2030. In a proposal for a “radical four-pronged approach” made on Thursday, the organisation’s CEO Geoff Crittenden said the situation was “not unique” to the nation, with US industry expected to lack 500,000 welders by 2030 and Japan…
Baraja has announced what it calls a “major step forward for automotive integration” of its Spectrum HD25 lidar product, through an “advanced development agreement” with an undisclosed automotive OEM. Baraja enters the agreement with its partner Veoneer, a Tier-1 hardware supplier and system integrator. Spectrum HD25 is based on Baraja’s proprietary Spectrum-Scan solid-state scanning platform,…
Guidelines have been released ahead of applications opening for round five of the Made In Queensland program, which offers grants of up to $2.5 million to help manufacturers “purchase big-ticket items that will help them modernise their business”. In a statement on Tuesday, manufacturing minister Glenn Butcher said: “We know from talking to manufacturers that…
By Kurtis Eichler Aerospace company Southern Launch is aiming to make another attempt to launch its rocket in regional South Australia after a failed take-off last year. The experimental Kestrel 1 models, built by SA-based company ATSpace, will be launched in November at a site in Whalers Way, about 30km from Port Lincoln. While researchers…
