Hearing implant manufacturer Cochlear has rejected competition concerns raised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over its proposed acquisition of Oticon Medical. The ACC said in a statement that the proposed takeover of non-surgical bone conductive hearing device manufacturer Oticon raised ‘preliminary competition concerns’ due to there being few global manufacturers of such…
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By Kevin Wyss, Rice University “Future chips may be 10 times faster, all thanks to graphene”; “Graphene may be used in COVID-19 detection”; and “Graphene allows batteries to charge 5x faster” – those are just a handful of recent dramatic headlines lauding the possibilities of graphene. Graphene is an incredibly light, strong and durable material…
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Outback outfitter R.M.Williams has extended its range of Australian made products, launching picnic blankets manufactured by Tasmania’s Waverly Mills. The Adelaide company, which is best known for its locally made boots and leather goods, said: “As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting and nurturing Australian craftsmanship, we’re partnering with leading artisans and creators around…
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Today in Australia’s place in the semiconductor world we consider ASX-listed Archer Materials, which is developing a quantum processor. Brent Balinski spoke to CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair. A lot of things are impossible, as the quote goes, until they’re done. At this stage, building a practical quantum computer remains impossible. Asked about his company’s approach…
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Carbon fibre road wheel manufacturer Carbon Revolution is to merge with a US entity, being recapitalised and listed in the US in the process and, potentially, ending up majority US owned. The Geelong company, whose shares have been lagging on the ASX, is to merge with special purpose acquisition company Twin Ridge Capital Acquisition Corp.…
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Cyclopharm receives R&D tax refund Radiopharmaceutical manufacturer Cyclopharm has received a $1.64 million tax incentive payment from the Australian Taxation Office. Meanwhile the Sydney company is continuing to progress the attainment of US Food and Drug Administration approval for the sale of its Technegas lung imaging products in the United States. Cyclopharm is finalising its…
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Resources and metals company Rio Tinto is planning to invest a further $600 million in renewable energy infrastructure in the Pilbara as part of the company’s efforts to decarbonise its Western Australian iron ore operations. The investment will fund the construction of two 100MW solar power facilities as well as 200MWh of on-grid battery storage…
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A new body aiming to help Queensland’s manufacturers access skilled workers will hold its first meeting on Wednesday. Manufacturing Skills Queensland is an independent company allocated $16.5 million over three years in state government funding. MSQ is chaired by Michael Glover, described in a statement from the Queensland government as having “over 20 years working…
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Space, communications and defence manufacturer Electro Optic Systems has been awarded two contracts with the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Space Commerce. The first contract, with the company’s US subsidiary EOS Defense Systems USA, will provide commercial satellite laser ranging (SLR) data for NOAA’s Open Architecture Data Repository, with the…
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A recently-launched semiconductor service bureau is part of the NSW government’s attempts to grow the local sector. In this edition of Australia’s place in the semiconductor world, Dr Nadia Court explains why the bureau exists and what it hopes to do. The Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau (S3B) was established in July 2022 to make it…
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