The board of energy company AGL Energy has rejected a takeover bid aimed at accelerating both the closure of the company’s coal-fired power stations and its investment in renewables. The company issued a statement to the ASX this morning saying that it rejected an ‘unsolicited, non-binding indication of interest’ from a consortium including tech billionaire…
By Joseph Brookes Just $85 million has been released from the federal government’s flagship $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy (MMS) program since it was announced in 2020. The biggest grants are currently being held up by government ministers’ input on independent recommendations, and await a final decision by the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison to be…
By Peter Roberts Am I the only one who wonders what the purpose could possibly be of the new Australian Nation Brand developed at the cost of $10 million for the federal government (pictured). The new logo replaces an earlier brand which was launched in 2020 to much derision – it was not instantly recognisable…
First Graphene’s low-carbon cement grant A consortium led by First Graphene has secured a GBP190,000 UK government grant to develop graphene-enhanced, low carbon cement. The company and Breedon Cement, Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and the University of Manchester aim to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions in cement production. The grant,…
A company planning to build a $700 million electric bus manufacturing plant in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales has abandoned its plan following unsatisfactory negotiations with the state government, ABC reported that Nexport had failed to secure certainty about the project from the state government and scrapped the plans. In 2020, Nexport announced…
By Peter Roberts The news this week that Origin Energy is seeking approval to shut Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant seven years early, is just the beginning of what should be a rapid phase out of coal power in Australia. The Eraring station in the NSW Hunter region and the largest of 16 remaining coal-fired…
Farm robot company changes course University of Sydney spinout company Agerris has announced that it is pursuing “alternative pathways” for its agricultural robot technology. Agerris officially launched in April 2019, following a $6.5 million seed round, to commercialise research at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics. It counted 14 of its robot carts in deployment…
Start up businesses making anything from non-milk cheese to fake meats have been busy raising cash from investors this week. In just one week: Fenn Foods raised $3 million to expand into exports of its vEEF brand plant-based ‘meats’ All G Foods won backing from Woolworths venture capital arm to expand its Love Buds alternative…
The Western Australian government is inviting grant applications from SMEs and business associations for grants worth $25,000 to assist them in accessing Asian markets.
By Denham Sadler The long-running Export Market Development Grant scheme is in crisis, with reforms quietly introduced two days before Christmas ‘blindsiding’ local businesses and leading to the value of grants being cut by as much as 80 per cent, according to expert advisors. On 23 December last year, a press release from trade minister…
