Work on bioplastics for Australian electric vehicles announced
University of Queensland has announced it is working with automotive start-up ACE-EV and Flinders University to develop bio-based materials for electric vehicles.
Behind those headlines. Why not to rely on claims robots threaten half our jobs
By Michael Coelli, Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne and Jeff Borland, Professor of Economics, University of Melbourne Should we believe headlines claiming nearly half of all jobs will be lost to robots and artificial intelligence? We think not, and in a newly released study we explain why. Headlines trumpeting massive job losses have been in abundance…
Defence industry boost needed for national security
Increasing regional strategic uncertainties require new defence industry policies to achieve military self-sufficiency, according to to military strategists. Writing in the journal of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, David Harvey and Graeme Dunk said Australia was not prepared for conflict from fuel supplies to bullets and spare parts. They argue: “For Australia to be more…
Australia could be “top exporter of zero-carbon steel and renewable hydrogen”
Climate change think tank Beyond Zero Emissions has said it supports a strong, low-emissions industrial sector, but further support for renewable energy and R&D in alternative steelmaking technologies is needed.
Gekko sells first on stream real time gold analyser
Mining equipment manufacturer Gekko Systems has successfully trialed and sold the world’s first on stream real-time gold analyser or ‘OLGA’ unit. The OnLine Gold Analyse has been trialed in a number of slurry streams at the Mt Carlton operation by Evolution Mining since November, 2018, and has now been procured. Developed in association with CSIRO,…
Titomic process makes super-strong titanium parts
A $2.6 million aerospace structure research project has revealed the higher strength titanium of components made using Titomic’s (ASX: TTT) metal 3D printing technology. The research by RMIT, CSIRO and the Innovative Manufacturing Co-operative Research Centre (IMCRC) tested parts made with the Titomic Kinetic Fusion process (TKF). The TKF process is based on CSIRO technology.…
ResMed grows sales and profits
Sleep apnea treatment company ResMed (ASX: RMD) achieved strong growth in revenue and profit in the first quarter of the 2020 financial year driven by product innovation and increasing software sales. The Sydney company reported revenue up 16 per cent to $999.3 million (US$681 million) with net operating profit up 19 per cent. ResMed manufactures…
Australian companies need to get more competitive by design
From the country’s woeful economic complexity rankings to building a better mousetrap, design can offer solutions. Brent Balinski spoke to Dr Brandon Gien, founder and CEO of Good Design Australia, about the topic.
Time to change economic policy to beat economic uncertainty
It s clearly time for the federal government to alter its economic course as manufacturers begin to feel the chill winds of Australia’s economic downturn. The Australian economy has been decelerating in the past year, growing at 1.4 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2019, down from 1.7 per cent last…
Cochlear builds in China, develops new implant
Bionic ear manufacturer Cochlear (ASX: COH) is pressing ahead building a new factory in China and moving to human trials of a breakthrough new fully implantable cochlear device. Chairman Rick Holliday-Smith told Cochlear’s annual general meeting that ‘sound’ progress had been made developing its new Chinese manufacturing facility in Chengdu (pictured). He said the project…