Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Quickstep business update shows strong recovery from FY22

Advanced composites manufacturer Quickstep has updated its business outlook and for the first time talked on expansion plans in the United States. The Sydney company told investors it expected FY23 revenue to be $100 million, up 15 per cent on the previous year – 94 percent of revenue is already contracted. More than 80 percent of revenue growth comes from new lines of business and the company now has a record order backlog of $200 million. Quickstep expects operating profit for the year of $6.5 million, up 35 percent on FY22. Quickstep managing director Mark Burgess said the company was recovering well from ‘significant challenges’ of FY22, had announced new contracts across all F-35 fighter jet contracts and expected to announce new business wins ‘in the near term’.

Pawsey supercomputer’s green credentials

Pawsey Supercomputing Centre’s latest supercomputer, Setonix (pictured), has been recognised as one of the greenest supercomputers in the world, after ranking in the Top five on the globally recognised Green500 list. Announced today at the international supercomputing conference in Texas, the ranking puts Setonix in company with exascale supercomputers Frontier in the US and LUMI in Finland, which share the same computing architecture. Setonix was also named the most powerful public research supercomputer in the Southern Hemisphere, ranking 15 in the global Top500 list this week. The Green500 is the global benchmark for efficient high-performance computing. The ranking means once fully available to researchers in early 2023, Setonix will enable high-impact research in domains such as radio astronomy, energy and resources, engineering, bioinformatics, health sciences and climate science while lowering its environmental impact.

Australian Hydrogen Council welcomes green shipping pledge

The Australian Hydrogen Council has welcomed Canberra’s decision to join a global pledge to clean up the international shipping industry. More than a billion tonnes of CO2 are emitted each year by seaborne ships, which rely on low-grade bunker fuel, accounting for almost three per cent of all carbon emitted by humankind. The AHC said it looked forward to working with the government on harnessing new technologies to reduce Australia’s shipping emissions. Australia will join with nations around the world in pledging to decarbonise the shipping industry, with representatives attending the launch of the Green Shipping Challenge at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh. Australia signed up to the Green Shipping Challenge in Sharm El-Sheikh after being invited to join by United States President Joe Biden at the Major Economies Forum in June.

Australia signs plastic pollution treaty

Australia has joined the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, which the government says signals a strong ambition to end plastic pollution around the world by 2040. Environment minister Water Tanya Plibersek announced on Wednesday that Australia will join a coalition of countries, co-led by Norway and Rwanda, and including the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada, ahead of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee Meeting (INC1) in Uruguay later this year. Without action, plastic production and consumption across the globe is set to triple by 2060, said the government. Measures to be taken would include restraining the consumption and production of plastic “to sustainable levels”, enabling a circular economy for plastics, and achieving “environmentally sound management and recycling”.

Innovative companies raise new capital

Several innovative manufacturers have raised new capital in fields ranging from cultured meat to medical imaging. Sydney cultured meat producer Vow has raised $73.5 million in Series A funding from investors including Blackbird, Toyota Ventures Square Peg, Grok and Prosperity 7 Ventures. Vow engineered meat should be ready for the public under the brand name Morsel this year. Meanwhile innovative digital freight forwarder Ofload has raised $60 million in a Series B round of equity and debt. The company, which maximises logistics opportunities by managing backfill in the trucking sector, recently acquired Melbourne’s CIA Logistics. Cash was raised from Singapore’s Jungle Ventures and a venture firm associated with freight giant Maersk. And vascular imaging company Vaxev has raised $8.5 million to commercialise its 3D medical imaging technology. Funds from Neotribe Ventures and Blackbird among others will expand Vaxev’s Sydney facilities and help secure market entry.

SEA to show new truck at NZ expo

SEA Electric will showcase its SEA 300-85 EV at the New Zealand Trucking Industry Show this month. The vehicle is currently available for order in NZ, and marks “SEA Electric’s launch as an official OEM, with the line assembled as new at the company’s Australian facility” it said. Thes how runs from November 25 to 26, at the Canterbury Agricultural Park, Christchurch.

Picture: Pawsey Supercomputing Centre