The Victorian Government has announced two grants totalling $3.5 million awarded to assist in establishing lithium-ion processing and recycling facilities, which it says will increase the state’s capacity to process batteries by 19,500 tonnes annually. Ecobatt was awarded $2.5 million and Enviropacific Services $1 million as part of the Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund Hazardous Waste…
Details
By Kathryn Willis, CSIRO; Britta Denise Hardesty, CSIRO; Katie Conlon, Ph.D., Portland State University, and Win Cowger, University of California, Riverside In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon…
Details
Ten Victorian manufacturers will boost their innovative capabilities through new grants announced under the state’s $15 million Made in Victoria – Industry R&D Infrastructure Fund. The Minister for Jobs and Industry Natalie Hutchins announced the grants, highlighting support for medical technology developer PolyNovo. The Port Melbourne company designs, develops and manufactures skin regeneration products to…
Details
Aluminium ferry manufacturer Incat Tasmania has announced a new a new partnership that could see a second, smaller battery electric ferry being constructed at the company’s shipyard alongside a world-first 148 metre battery electric vessel already under construction. The new partnership with Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS to complete a design study for the…
Details
Today in our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – Serena Ross contrasts innovation to be new to the world, and continuous improvement – the lifeblood of her company, Circuitwise Electronics. Australia’s innovation effort can be improved by a greater focus on ‘ordinary’ innovation. In contrast to deep-tech or R&D-focused…
Details
The federal government has signed a $500 million contract with Lockheed Martin Australia to deliver the next phase of the Joint Air Battle Management System that synchronises air and missile defence operations across air, sea and land operations. LMA was named in October as the strategic partner to deliver the project, known as AIR6500, which…
Details
Akula Tech which aims to design and build a constellation of satellites to detect natural disasters and conflicts and analyse the information in space has qualified to join the XPRIZE Wildfire competition’s Space-based Detection and Intelligence Track (Track A). XPRIZE is a four year international competition to develop and demonstrate fully-autonomous capabilities to detect and…
Details
New Zealand-headquartered energy projects business Hiringa Energy has launched a green hydrogen refuelling network in its home country, which it says will “act as a blueprint” for efforts in Australia. In August last year Hiringa was announced as a partner with Sundown Pastoral Co on the Good Earth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia (GEGHA) project. GEGHA…
Details
Sicona Battery Technologies has chosen the south-eastern United States near the heart of battery and electric vehicle manufacturing for the development of its first commercial production facilities. By leveraging low cost and abundant silicon metal, Sicona claims its SiCx battery anode materials technology increases the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by 20 percent. Having recently…
Details
The federal government has launched its Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy, which will be phased in from July and initially see companies bidding for government construction services contracts needing to meet agreed sustainability outcomes, including products with recycled content. In an announcement from environment minister Tanya Plibersek (pictured on right) on Wednesday, two phases of the…
Details