Grants up to $100,000 announced for “renewables and low emission” project feasibility studies

The federal government has opened a new round of the Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII), offering grants of up to $100,000 to startup and SME companies targeting “renewables and low emission practices”. In a statement from industry minister Ed Husic on Monday, companies were invited to submit their “innovative proposals for ideas that address…

Gilmour Space raises $55m, Eris rocket heads for space

The historic launch of an Australian developed and manufactured rocket is closer with Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies closing a $55 million Series D capital raise ahead of the company’s maiden orbital launch later this year. Led by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) with Blackbird, Main Sequence and Australian superannuation funds HostPlus and HESTA, the capital…

Hazer completes $9 million raise

Chemical engineering company Hazer Group announced on Monday that it has received binding commitments amounting to $9 million, before costs, under a placement.  The firm commitments for ordinary, fully-paid share came from “institutional, sophisticated and professional investors” and at an issue price of $0.50 per share, “together with a free attaching quoted HRZO class option…

‘Green’ or ‘blue’ hydrogen – what difference does it make? Not much for most Australians

By Mitchell Scovell, CSIRO and Andrea Walton, CSIRO Hydrogen can play a key role in Australia’s energy transition by giving us additional ways of storing and moving energy around. As the world shifts towards cleaner energy production, there’s a push to make hydrogen production cleaner as well. In Australia, low-emission hydrogen is produced in two…

Critical mineral nickel slump spurs government action

A slump in prices for the critical mineral nickel – used in battery manufacture – has brought action from the federal and Western Australian governments. In the past few days federal Resources Minister Madeleine King placed nickel on the Critical Minerals List, giving nickel companies opportunity to access billions of dollars in Commonwealth funding. And…