Lessons from Australia’s most innovative manufacturers

On the opening day of Australian Manufacturing Week, @AuManufacturing and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre held a special event: Lessons from Australia’s most innovative manufacturers. Below is the introduction speech from the event, covering some of what we’ve learned so far from @AuManufacturing’s ongoing search to identify and celebrate Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers. By…

Australia is facing a 450,000-tonne mountain of used solar panels. Here’s how to turn it into a valuable asset

By Archie Chapman, The University of Queensland There were an estimated 100 million individual solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in Australia at the end of 2022. We estimate this number will likely grow to over 2 billion if we are to meet Australia’s 2050 net-zero emissions target. This growth means Australia is facing a 450,000-tonne mountain…

Australia finally has an electric vehicle strategy. How does it stack up?

By Hussein Dia, Swinburne University of Technology Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy, released on Wednesday, details the government’s long-awaited plans to accelerate the adoption of these vehicles. Consultations on the strategy began last September. The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, then promised the strategy would make Australia a globally competitive market for…

Farewell Liddell: what to expect when Australia’s oldest coal plant closes

By Joel Gilmore, Griffith University and Tim Nelson, Griffith University After more than five decades, the last operating units of the Liddell coal-fired power station will close this month. The station’s owner, AGL, is Australia’s largest carbon polluter. Liddell’s closure will reduce the company’s emissions by 17%. Liddell, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley,…

Our search for Australia’s top 50 most innovative companies continues

The first entries are in in the Australian Manufacturing Forum networking group and @AuManufacturing’s hunt to identify and celebrate Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers. We can’t give away too much about what we have seen so far, but we can say innovation in manufacturing takes many forms – from innovation in product, process, materials, technology…

AUKUS and submarines, the start of Australia’s re-industrialisation? – By Geoff Potts

The potential industrial payoff from the construction of Australian nuclear submarines, or potentially the lack of it, has ignited controversy among @AuManufacturing readers. Here, in the third in a series (see below) Geoff Potts takes a more positive view. AUKUS will be one of the most significant and difficult national projects undertaken by our nation…

Celebrating Australian sovereign capability – challenges and solutions by Graeme Sheather

As our Celebrating Australian sovereign capability editorial series comes to a close, Graeme Sheather looks at the big picture, where we stand today and the challenges and solutions ahead. A new global order is emerging and it is imperative that Australian manufacturing businesses and government get their act together to create advanced high-tech products and…

Celebrating Australian sovereign capability – how to not create a sovereign manufacturing sector

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed the country to purchasing US and UK submarine technology with strong support from the Opposition, as part of the AUKUS agreement. This is the latest chapter in a decades long – and spectacularly unsuccessful – effort to establish an Australian sovereign submarine design and manufacturing enterprise. Peter Roberts…