Australia’s first lithium-ion battery Giga-factory is a step closer to commencing operations with the successful completion of a pilot plant program supported by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre. Energy Renaissance (ER) now operates at their pilot facility, dubbed Apollo, at Tomago in the Hunter Valley, NSW producing up to 4MWh of batteries per month and…
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used his opening speech and the national Jobs and Skills Summit to announce a TAFE training and skills blitz, headlined by 180,000 new fee-free TAFE places. Albanese told assembled politicians, industrialists, union and community representatives that National Cabinet had this week reached an agreement between the Commonwealth and every State…
By Peter Roberts Two of the veterans of the Australian venture capital industry have increased their footprint in defence manufacturing with their majority owned ASDAM advanced manufacturing business moving to take over another two Australian defence suppliers. CPE Capital, founded by industry pioneers, former Austrade boss Bill Ferris, and Joe Skrzynski, have been investing in…
Western Australian developed masonry robot Hadrian X has completed the construction of the first residential building in Wellard, WA, utilising Porotherm bricks produced by Austrian company Wienerberger. Wienerberger and FBR (Fastbrick Robotics) have been in partnership since 2018 to advance automation and digitalisation in the construction industry with the Hadrian X mated with specially developed…
Much loved confectionery brand Darrell Lea may be 95 years old this year, but the business is refreshing itself for the next century. According to Austrade in the past four years the iconic Sydney company acquired and relaunched the Life Savers brand, launched new chocolate blocks and innovated to drive growth in the confectionery category.…
Skills are top of mind today with a jobs and skills summit in Canberra. With deteriorating relations between Australia and a number of countries a cyber skills shortage is looming large for manufacturers. John Hines outlines what can be done. The cyber security skills gap in Australia is reaching unprecedented levels. The hunt for talented…
By Peter Roberts Australia’s Silex Systems has successfully manufactured and tested the first full-scale laser system destined for the enrichment of uranium in a major breakthrough in its decades long quest to commercialise what has been called third generation laser enrichment technology. The company announced today the first full scale laser system module to be…
By Peter Roberts PPK Group held its course for its transition from mining equipment manufacturer to technology commercialisation company in the past year, but not without experiencing failures in its technology portfolio and – like many young technology companies – a big fall in its share price. According to executive chairman Robin Levison (pictured, below)…
A jobs and skills summit will open in Sydney tomorrow against a background of inflation, interest rate hikes and skills shortages further weakening Australia’s industrial infrastructure. Here Roy Green surveys the summiting landscape, and what this means for industry policy. While this week’s Jobs and Skills Summit is being held under different circumstances from its…
A test of a unique ultra-low voltage lighting system in an academic setting has seen a South Australian lighting business move from ‘road testing’ its equipment on the Hunter Class frigate program to live testing at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide. MyModular’s extra low-voltage lighting uses 48V rather than the standard 240V, making it…
