Comment by Peter Roberts The Guardian put it beautifully on Saturday when it said that ‘Australian smarts and Chinese industrial might made solar power the cheapest power humanity has seen’. This is the power of nations working together towards a common goal – though perhaps not to the advantage of Australia industrially in the case…
Federal Government invests in Whiskey Alpha watercraft company The federal government has invested $7.35 million in watercraft builder the Whiskey Alpha Project’s development of its next-generation, high-performance watercraft. The investment will support the veteran-owned company’s naval design and manufacturing know-how, which utilises composite material technology and a novel ‘sea blade’ hull to enhance stability and…
One-piece carbon fibre road wheel manufacturer Carbon Revolution is to raise $95 million and invest in a mega production line to vastly increase production of its automotive road wheels. The maker of wheels for Ferrari, Ford Mustang and Renault Megane models told investors it would begin construction of Phase 1 of its first mega-line production…
Satellite communications company Myriota and water management company Yabby Sensors and Consulting have launched a nanosatellite Internet of Things (IoT) solution for the mining and agricultural sector. Their system provides dam operators and owners with an automatic dam and water storage monitoring solution, allowing them to identify and manage safety, regulatory and water use issues.…
Julie Phillips leads a group attempting to save from closure one of Australia’s largest pharmaceutical plants and repurpose it to produce Covid-19 vaccines. Here she explains that with Covid-19 not going away anytime soon, now is the time to act and create new capabilities. GSK‘s largest southern hemisphere pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing plant in Boronia,…
@AuManufacturing’s editorial series – fibres and composites transforming industry – turns today to the latest wonder material – boron nitride nanotubes. Will BNNT’s be the wonder material that makes the real breakthrough from science to widespread practical use? By Peter Roberts Wonder fibres and composites come and go, sometimes like carbon fibre nanotubes finding an…
Two of the world’s largest defence contractors, Lockheed Martin and Thales, have joined forces to compete for the opportunity of building an Australian missile manufacturing facility for the federal government. Defence recently began a smart procurement process to select the group that will develop an Australian Guided Weapons Enterprise under a $1 billion federal government…
The federal government and CSIRO have announced new funding and new initiatives to drive research and investment in future energy systems. Yesterday Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced $540 million for clean hydrogen hubs in regional Australia and carbon capture, storage and utilisation projects and hubs. Today CSIRO revealed it was joining the Global Power System…
By Peter Roberts The announcement that the Victorian government will back a new mRNA vaccine production facility with $50 million has offered new hope to the giant GSK pharmaceutical operation at Boronia in eastern Melbourne which has been slated for closure by the global group. With GSK re-directing its businesses towards biopharmaceuticals it has no…
Traffic Technologies wins $1.7 million export order Roadway signage and traffic systems company Traffic Technologies has won contracts worth $1.7 million from Quick Turn Circuits to supply its systems to China, Singapore, Chile and Qatar. The company will supply more than 300 of its Urban traffic controllers which feature the intelligent, adaptive traffic control system…
