Special purpose investment fund Australian Business Growth Fund (AGBF) will invest $15 million into family owned metal manufacturer Derwent Industries Group bringing its total investments made into SME businesses to more than $100 million. Derwent is an advanced metal manufacturer servicing critical infrastructure projects and key industries including water, mining, rail and defence, operating from…
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Thermal energy storage company MGA Thermal has been awarded backing worth approximately $560,000 through Shell’s accelerator program, which the startup says will step up completion of a pilot project. MGA’s pilot is located at its factory in Tomago, NSW, has a budget of $3 million, and aims to gather data on “and provide a tangible…
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Australia’s emissions-intensive businesses along with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) have identified a possible pathway to decarbonise heavy industry, outlined in a series of new reports published today. The Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (Australian Industry ETI) has published the Pathways to Industrial Decarbonisation Phase 3 reports. The reports identify decarbonisation pathways for five…
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With the federal opposition opposing the government’s proposed $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund that was endorsed by voters at the recent election, the views of cross-benchers have become critical. In a speech to Parliament the independent member for Warringah Zali Steggall outlinesd her concerns about the bill establishing the fund, at the same time strongly…
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By Peter Roberts Opal Australian Paper has made its last ream of its popular Reflex brand copy paper with the formal announcement of the permanent closure of the company’s Maryvale mill in Victoria. Making good on warnings made last month, the company conceded it had not been able to solve the issue of a supply…
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Rux Energy wants to be the first in the world to increase hydrogen storage density with novel molecular sponges. Brent Balinski speaks to founder and CEO Dr Jehan Kanga. Metal organic frameworks have only really been studied since 1999, says Dr Jehan Kanga (pictured), who studied a PhD on these nanoporous materials and is now…
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What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to this site were reading. 5) “DEVELOPING ADVANCED MANUFACTURING IN AUSTRALIA” INQUIRY UNDERWAY A federal parliamentary inquiry into manufacturing has begun its work, and is accepting written submissions until the end of next month. The “Developing Advanced Manufacturing in Australia” inquiry by the House…
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Charles Darwin University and others have developed a new Diploma of Advanced Manufacturing, designed to increase the availability of Industry 4.0 skills for the Northern Territory’s manufacturers. The new course was developed by CDU’s North Australia Centre for Autonomous Systems (NACAS) in partnership with RMIT University, the federal department of education, and the territory’s government.…
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Engineer registration is something new in Australia other than in Queensland, but now other state’s are following suit. Here, Paul van de Loo asks whether Australian engineers are ready for a scheme which they did not ask for and do not need. If you’re a typical engineer you’re pretty focussed on your engineering, and you…
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This week Quantum Brilliance announced a $26 million funding round, a significant boost to its lofty ambitions. Brent Balinski spoke to co-founder Dr Andrew Horsley about bringing Australian-made room-temperature quantum accelerators to the masses. Among people who care about such things, Intel’s examination of Australia as a possible home for a fabrication site in the…
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