Electric bus company gears up for zero-emission growth
The South Australian group behind the manufacture of the Brabham BT62 supercar is positioning itself to become a major producer of electric buses for the emerging Australian market.
Details
Successful first test flight for Loyal Wingman
Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force have announced a successfully completed first test flight for the Boeing Loyal Wingman autonomous plane, the first military aircraft to be designed and manufactured in Australia in over half a century.
Details
Axiom Precision and K-TIG collaborate on defence welding
Advanced manufacturer Axiom Precision Manufacturing and welding technology group K-TIG are to develop Australian manufacturing capability in advanced welding for the defence sector. The two companies will share $1 million in funding from the Centre for Defence Industry Capability to developed advanced armour and structural welding processes in a new 6,000 square metre facility built…
Details
Cash flow can be a challenge on defence contracts, says SME
Penguin Composites, a north-west Tasmanian company supplying vehicle sets for Hawkei light protected vehicles, has said more could be done to help smaller companies awarded defence contracts. Local paper The Advocate reports general manager Adrian Polden saying there was a lag between costs and revenues when tooling up to supply defence projects, and better support…
Details
Calix electric reactor to heat salts in energy storage pilot
Industrial process technology company Calix has joined with Sweden’s SaltX and Sumitomo SHI FW to further develop a salt based energy storage system with potential to speed decarbonisation of the economy. Calix’s novel kiln technology will be added to SaltX’s energy storage system in a 200kW pilot plant to be built in Sweden. The pilot…
Details
It’s full steam ahead for Australia’s submarine construction project – by Gregor Ferguson
With the design phase of Australia’s new Attack class submarines underway and a new shipyard being constructed in Adelaide, Dr Gregor Ferguson takes a hard look at the project and its many critics. No, nuclear is not an option, cost rises have been exaggerated and the project is on schedule.
Details
XTEK in loss as R&D and commercialising phase gather pace
Advanced composites manufacturer XTEK has reported a gross loss of $3.2 million in the six months to December 31 as it continued to invest in product and market development and in production facilities for its defence industry products. The loss, made on turnover down $3.6 million on the previous corresponding period to $12.4 million, came…
Details
Softmed to expand and onshore manufacture of surgical gloves
Australia’s first producer of surgical and examination gloves critical to medicine and surgery is to be Softmed, the country’s largest manufacturer of personal protection equipment. The company has beaten the giant Ansell medical and industrial gloves group, which is Australian based but manufactures only overseas, to the punch. Fresh from investing $30 million at a…
Details
Local cannabis market booming, but R&D being stifled: industry
Medical cannabis is a rapidly growing sector, and plays Australia’s strengths in research, but the industry says regulations make its work difficult. Brent Balinski spoke to Peter Crock of Cann Group and Peter Duggan of CSIRO’s Botanical Extracts Lab about the potential.
Details
Micro-X secures $8 million grant to develop CT stroke detection
Innovative X-ray technology company Micro-X will develop a lightweight brain CT scanner based on its carbon fibre nanotube X-ray emitter for the rapid detection and diagnosis of stroke. The development will be funded by a $40 million grant – one of the largest health grants ever awarded in Australia – made to the Australian Stroke…
Details