Consultations begin on the “an exciting new commercial opportunity” of bioenergy feedstocks

Consultation has begun on the federal government’s National Bioenergy Feedstock Strategy, following the announcement last month of $1.1 billion in funding for low-carbon liquid fuels. According to a statement from agriculture minister Julie Collins on Thursday, bioenergy will be “an important part” of decarbonising the economy, and that it requires a consistent supply of feedstocks,…

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Lessons begin at Future of Housing Construction Centre of Excellence

An event was attended on Thursday inaugurating Melbourne Polytechnic’s Future of Housing Construction Centre of Excellence, which is being built with $50 million of federal and state government support. The site at Heidelberg aims to address Australia’s housing challenges through training that keeps pace with the adoption of new technologies which draw from manufacturing, such…

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Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Astroscale, HEO partner on space monitoring This week Japanese satellite servicing company Astroscale Holdings and Sydney-based non-Earth imaging specialist HEO announced a three-year memorandum of understanding. According to a statement from Astroscale on Tuesday, the agreement deepens an existing partnership on monitoring, assessing and ultimately servicing allied defence, government and commercial assets. The pair will…

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Ag robot maker SwarmFarm raises $30 million in Series B round

Emerald, Queensland-based agricultural robotics company SwarmFarm Robotics has raised $30 million through its Series B round, with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation tipping in $7 million. According to a statement from the CEFC on Thursday, the round will accelerate the rollout of SwarmFarm’s lightweight, self-driving “SwarmBots”, which reduce herbicide use by up to 95 per…

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SolidHydrogen partners with Korea’s EN2CORE Technology

Sydney startup SolidHydrogen and South Korea’s EN2CORE Technology have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, aiming to demonstrate their combined technologies for producing and storing hydrogen in a “pilot at scale”.   SolidHydrogen is developing metal hydrides, a type of alloy, to “store, purify, and compress hydrogen at a fraction of the cost of existing technologies”. EN2CORE…

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Weld Australia, SEMMA strike new partnership

Professional body Weld Australia and regional manufacturer representative the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) have formalised a partnership, saying that a newly signed MoU between the pair creates a “clear, practical framework focused on collaborating to represent, connect, and advocate”. According to a joint statement from the organisations on Thursday, the partnership will deliver…

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Infrabuild to install new bowls for Laverton EAF as part of capacity-expansion program

The country’s second-largest steelmaker, InfraBuild, has said it’s upping capacity at its two electric arc furnace facilities, with the company announcing it has taken delivery of two new EAF bowls at its Laverton Melt Shop at Melbourne. According to a statement on Wednesday from the company, which runs the nation’s only steelmaking EAFs, the bowls…

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First Graphene features in new solar thermal and automotive products

Ireland-based Senergy has released a range of products covering on-roof solar thermal, integrated solar thermal and automotive technologies making use of First Graphene’s PureGRAPH. According to a statement from ASX-listed nanomaterials company First Graphene on Wednesday, Senergy’s polymer heat exchange materials incorporate PureGRAPH.  First Graphene CEO Michael Bell said Senergy’s commercialisation of several new material…

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ARENA awards three companies $12 million for process heat projects

McCain Foods, Sugar Australia and Blackmores will receive approximately $12 million in combined support, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), for projects trialling and demonstrating low-emission technologies for process heat. According to a statement from the federal government agency on Tuesday, the projects will demonstrate how to reduce reliance on natural gas, as well…

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