Public hearings for the ongoing federal parliamentary inquiry into advanced manufacturing will be held on Wednesday in Melbourne. The Developing Advanced Manufacturing in Australia inquiry by the House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources was announced on February 15 and accepted written submissions until March 30. It has a stated aim of “supporting Australian industry, creating…
Rio acquires scandium project in NSW Rio Tinto has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Platina Scandium Project near Condobolin in central NSW, from Platina Resources for $14 million. Rio described the project in a statement on Friday as “a long life, high-grade scalable resource that could produce up to 40 tonnes per…
Technology commercialisation company PPK Group announced on Friday morning that an agreement to take a 33 per cent stake in battery company PowerPlus Energy, announced last month, is now unconditional. Melbourne-based PowerPlus is a maker of lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) stationary storage batteries. The material interest in the company was complementary to its battery business,…
Micro-X wins international design award X-ray company Micro-X has won an internationally-renowned iF Design Award for its Argus X-ray Camera. According to a statement from the Adelaide-based company, Argus won over the 133-member jury, made up of independent experts from all over the world, for its high impact in transforming stand-off imaging capability for bomb…
The University of NSW has announced that four researchers from its science and engineering faculties have been awarded a total of $5.5 million for projects covering quantum computing, environmental sensing, urban stormwater reuse, and fusion energy storage. The funding is being delivered through the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) new Mid-Career Industry Fellowships program ($3.7 million)…
The first round of grants under the Victorian Land Systems Fund – Supply Chain Uplift Program, has been announced, with five companies awarded between $2,000 and $100,000 for projects to help them participate in Hanwha Defense Australia’s supply chain. The grants were announced during a visit by manufacturing minister Ben Carroll to Hanwha’s site —…
A new report on technology adoption in the transport industry suggests that many jobs will disappear or be changed, with a majority of workers feeling unprepared when it comes to their skills. The Creating our future transport and mobility workforce study was carried out by the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre and Swinburne University, and considered…
Duratec upgrades profit outlook Construction, engineering and remediation contractor Duratec has upgraded its revenue and profit guidance for FY23. The Western Australian company now expects revenue to be between $465 million and $495 million, and normalised EBITDA to be between $36 million and $39 million. The company, which provides engineering services on a range of…
Researchers from the University of NSW have developed artificial synapses and sensors to create an electronic material, able to detect subtle human motion and monitor physiological signals, and inspired by human skin. The scientists published their work in Advanced Functional Materials, describing a device that required little power to run and that was “able to…
By Brian Schmidt, Australian National University This article is part of our series on big ideas for the Universities Accord. The federal government is calling for ideas to “reshape and reimagine higher education, and set it up for the next decade and beyond”. A review team is due to finish a draft report in June…