Dettmer announces retirement
National President of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union Andrew Dettmer has announced that he will resign from the role, effective September 1. In an update on Linkedin on Thursday, Dettmer shared: “It’s been an amazing adventure. Very proud of my union and all that it’s achieved in its 172 years. I’ve been part of it for the last 36. I’ll be continuing in a number of roles including as trustee of Spirit Super and board member at TAFE Qld. Looking forward to the next challenges!”
SunDrive halves staff: report
Solar PV startup SunDrive has restructured, with co-founder Vince Allen becoming CTO and replaced as CEO by Natalie Malligan, and reduced its headcount by half, according to a report in The Australian Financial Review on Wednesday. The AFR said the restructure had been confirmed by SunDrive, though the number of jobs was not given. Meanwhile, The Australian said it had not received comment from SunDrive, but reports “up to 35 jobs” lost. SunDrive is based on a technology that uses copper instead of silver in solar panels, which is currently an expensive but critical ingredient. The company has produced a cell 25.54 per cent efficiency in turning sunlight into electricity, a world record, and has fabricated its first full size solar panels. It is currently exploring the possibility of building solar panels at AGL’s Hunter Energy Hub.
Jobs cut at TAFE in northern Victoria, says NTEU
Over 60 TAFE jobs in northern Victoria will be scrapped under a restructure, according to the National Tertiary Education Union. According to a statement from the NTEU on Thursday, Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) is planning to cut 61 professional staff in a proposed restructure “that will directly impact a total of 117 roles, with the remainder to be redeployed or in changed jobs.” If the restructure goes ahead, “it will mean overall staff numbers have been slashed from 594 to 413 full-time equivalent jobs.” NTEU Victorian Division Secretary Sarah Roberts said: “If these job losses go ahead, the economic and educational consequences for northern Victoria will be felt through the entire community.”
Kingspan releases K-Roc
Insulation manufacturer Kingspan Insulated Panels has announced the launch of its new K-Roc wall and ceiling panels. The range of insulated panels is manufactured at Kingspan’s factory in St Marys, Sydney, a move which the company says eliminated the need to ship from the United Kingdom and “reduce[s] lead times and ensure[s] that Kingspan’s contractors and clients have full confidence that their buildings will be constructed and completed on time.” In a statement on Thursday, the company described the new panels as “efficient and straightforward to install; they are prefabricated, which simplifies handling and reduces installation time.” Jonathan Wormwell, General Manager at Kingspan, said, “Architects can select a product that’s high performing and simple to detail from the early design stage. Kingspan clients can work with our sales, specification, and technical teams to select the optimal product which satisfies the thermal, and structural requirements of the project.”
Air Hub launches at Latrobe
Latrobe City Council has announced the official launch of Swinburne University of Technology’s Aerostructures Innovation Research (AIR) Hub’s newest location at the Latrobe Aerospace Technology Precinct. The facility at the Latrobe Regional Airport in Morwell was launched on Wednesday, with Mayor of Latrobe City Council Darren Howe joined by Swinburne Deputy Vice Chancellor Research, Karen Hapgood and AIR Hub Director Dr Adriano Di Pietro at the launch. “The opening of the AIR Hub’s R&D and test facility at the Precinct is the next step in our collaborative journey with Latrobe City Council to develop an Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem in regional Victoria,” said Di Pietro, Director of the AIR Hub.
Schenker joins SAF program
Logistics company DB Schenker has announced its participation in Cathay’s Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Programme, established in 2022 and enabling members to purchase low-carbon fuels for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Cargo flights from Hong Kong and other ports in its network. According to an explanation from CSIRO, SAF can be “derived from a range of feedstocks such as biomass, waste products, natural oils and fats, other carbon sources and hydrogen”. Schenker said a commitment to buy 878 metric tons of SAF through the program “demonstrates its commitment to sustainable logistics and “underlines our environmental stewardship in air cargo and supports the global push for SAF by increasing demand for it across more regions across the globe,”. Cathay Director Cargo Tom Owen said the newest member of SAF Programme was also “one of the biggest contributors to date, and the commitment “is the equivalent of saving more than 2,600 tonnes in CO2 emissions.”
La Trobe Uni a finalist in NASA contest
La Trobe University and Gaia Project Australia have been named finalists in NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, for a project designed to grow food for long space journeys. The team called, named Enigma of the Cosmos, created a vertical farm for leafy and micro greens grown in a controlled environment in 28 days instead of the usual three months if they were in soil. According to the university, it took six months to design and build a prototype that NASA could take to space to feed astronauts. The team will travel to Ohio in the US for the final on August 15 and 16, where the winners will be chosen by NASA. La Trobe Engineering Lecturer Dr Alex Stumpf said: “Our team spent many long days and nights creating the world’s first expandable grow channel vertical farm system… I believe we will do well in the competition, but regardless of the outcome, the system and the ideas will lead to real impact back here on Earth.”
Ballarat embraces soft plastics recycling
A new City of Ballarat new kerbside collection pilot program is seeing over 2,700 households diverting “scrunchable” soft plastics from landfill, and recycling them. The 12-month pilot enables residents to recycle their soft plastics in a City of Ballarat-supplied orange bag that can now be placed in residents’ yellow-lid recycling bin. “Recycling soft plastics allows them to be sorted, processed and ultimately transformed back into other products, keeps them out of landfill and gives them a new life,” said City of Ballarat Mayor Des Hudson. The program is being run in partnership with the Australian Food and Grocery Council.
Picture: credit Kingspan Solar
