Omni Tanker gains $4 million Clean Energy Innovation Fund investment to support export growth

3 May 2019 13:24

By Staff Reporter

Carbon fibre composites innovator Omni Tanker has gained a $4 million equity investment from the Clean Energy Innovation Fund as part of a $7.9 million capital raising to support its expansion and export growth.

Omni Tanker’s use of composites offers weight savings over steel for vessels transporting liquids. These vessels use a patented thermoplastic liner, which can accommodate a greater range of liquids and is easier to wash down.

The company is scaling up production of its road tankers and its newer tank container (ISO tank) the OmniTAINER. The global ISO tank fleet is estimated at 550,000, and growing annually at 8 per cent.

“Globally we are seeing significant growth in the tank container market, and transporters and operators are all seeking new ways to improve safety and drive profitability. Our proven technology is compelling for users of transport tanks and we are scaling our production capability to meet the global demand,” said CEO Daniel Rodgers, whose late father William Rodgers founded the company and its foundation technology.

“With this investment we will substantially expand our NSW manufacturing plant and invest in our specialist workforce, enabling a major increase in production capacity by 2020. We are also pursuing other avenues for the technology in collaboration with the University of New South Wales and other industry partners through initiatives including the UNSW centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites (AMAC) and the Australian Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC).”

The investment by the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, operated with the assistance of ARENA, brings its total investments so far to $64 million, across 10 transactions.

The inter-modal OmniTAINER product is a 22,500-litre tank container with approval for transport of dangerous goods in Australia, the US and Europe. Exports of these to the US and Europe began early this year.