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With customers moving to bolster their supply chains following the Covid pandemic, Australian manufacturers are crying out for the skilled staff they need to expand. Every manufacturer whether they are producing industrial machinery, fabricating sheet metal, in the automotive sector or in high technology areas such as medical devices is short of 10, 20 even…

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Harvest B to begin exports with NZ distro deal

Plant-based ingredient company Harvest B has announced a new distribution agreement with New Zealand’s Dunninghams, which will lead to the first exports for the start-up manufacturer. Dunninghams is a privately owned, fourth-generation family company supplying ingredients and other products to butchers and food manufacturers across NZ.  In a statement on Tuesday, Harvest B said Dunninghams…

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PharmAust to wind up Epichem following DNDi contract loss 

Clinical-stage cancer therapeutics company PharmAust has announced that it is putting wholly-owned subsidiary Epichem, a contract research organisation, into voluntary liquidation. In a statement on Tuesday, ASX-listed PharmAust explained that a big contributor to Epichem’s success was a long-standing research contract with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi.) This was not renewed past March this…

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Viral room-temperature superconductor claims spark excitement – and skepticism

By Mahboobeh Shahbazi, Queensland University of Technology Last week, a group of South Korean physicists made a startling claim. In two papers uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, they say they have created a material that “opens a new era for humankind”. LK-99, a lead-based compound, is purportedly a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor. Such a material,…

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All pain and no gain in Victoria’s gas ban – by Jon Seeley

Gas manufacturers have reacted strongly against moves by Victoria to ban new gas connections. Here Jon Seeley, whose company manufactures the Braemar range of gas appliances and Seeley air coolers, attacks the decision for driving up emissions. The Victorian Government’s foolish and short-sighted ban on gas in new homes will only push emissions higher and…

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Plotlogic raises cash for push into minining technology

US and Australian venture capital climate and sustainability heavyweights have led a $US28 million Series B funding round for deep-tech mining company Plotlogic. In the five years since its inception, Queensland-based Plotlogic has fast become a leader in ore characterisation. Their technology helps customers, including BHP, Vale, South32 and leading lithium company Pilbara Minerals, increase…

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Horizon Power scheduled to install vanadium battery for pilot trials in 2024

State-owned Horizon Power has announced the purchase of a vanadium redox flow battery, which the Western Australian government says is a first for an Australian energy utility. According to a statement from the state government on Monday, Horizon has signed an agreement for purchase, installation, and commissioning of the vanadium battery for a long-duration energy…

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