PhosEnergy to develop nuclear space batteries

Adelaide-based green-energy technology company PhosEnergy and the University of Adelaide are developing next-generation nuclear batteries for space and defence industries. PhosEnergy, which develops technology for recovering useful energy resources and chemicals from wastes, have been awarded a grant of more than $2.4 million to support the project under the Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centre’s Projects…

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Industrial fabric company leads new mystery material project

GALE Pacific, Deakin University and the Innovative Manufacturing CRC have announced an eight-month project to “develop a lightweight, flexible and formable fabric” with predicted usefulness across a variety of sectors. The ASX-listed company, which makes shadecloth and leisure products under the Coolaroo brand and industrial products under its Commercial Fabrics division, was awarded a $70,000…

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China is gunning for supremacy in the global green hydrogen race. Will it shatter Australia’s dreams?

China is responsible for almost one-third of global emissions each year. It’s committed to becoming carbon neutral before 2060 – and producing green hydrogen is key to this plan. Australia is also pouring millions of dollars into green hydrogen technology. But China’s new plan could throw cold water on Australia’s dream of becoming a global hydrogen superpower.

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Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Li-S Energy expands production footprint at Deakin Novel battery technology developer LiS Energy has grown with the addition of more facility space to increase production at Deakin University, Geelong’s Institute for Frontier Materials. Li-S has signed a lease to take an additional 1,000 square metres of space at the Waurn Ponds campus for the installation…

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Aukus accelerates hypersonic missile development

The three nations in the Aukus pact Australia, the US and the UK have extended the scope of their collaboration from nuclear submarines to include hypersonic missile development. Australia and the US already have a collaboration to develop hypersonic missiles known as the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE). However following a virtual meeting…

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Schneider Electric buys transformer monitoring start up

French manufacturer Schneider Electric has bought a Brisbane startup company founded on University of Queensland technology to monitor the health of electricity network transformers. Schneider Electric, which manufactures Clipsal electrical equipment in Adelaide, has bought Aurtra which develops remote industrial sensors to monitor ageing transformers using technology designed at the university’s School of Information Technology…

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SMEs team up to deliver Earth observation microsatellites

Rocket manufacturer Gilmour Space Technologies and Perth Earth observation and data fusion specialist LatConnect 60 (LC60) have teamed up to build and launch the first microsatellite in a planned high-resolution hyperspectral imaging constellation. The smart satellites making up the HyperSight 60 constellation will be placed in 30-degree inclined orbits to provide ‘frequent revisit data capture’…

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Toolcraft and Mitchell & Cheesman merge for defence

Two South Australian defence suppliers are joining forces to offer a comprehensive suite of integrated design and engineering services for a range of customers, including defence. Complex mechanical system integration specialist Toolcraft Australia and flexible manufacturing solutions provider Mitchell & Cheesman have merged to deliver significantly expanded advanced manufacturing and technology development capabilities. Established in…

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Let’s start EV manufacturing with the Nissan Leaf – by Shane West

Nissan Australia’s Dandenong South casting plant in Victoria recently won a series of manufacturing contracts with Nissan Japan to produce castings for the new Nissan LEAF mass-market all-electric car. Here Shane West outlines how Nissan’s footprint in Australia and Nissan’s overseas manufacture of the Leaf can kick-start EV manufacturing in Australia. The Nissan Leaf casting…

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