Round 15 of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) has backed five research projects with a total of $3.8 million in grants, including those involving nanomaterials for water remediation and recycling metal from disused mobile phones. According to a statement from federal industry minister Ed Husic on Wednesday, Indian and Australian researchers were cooperating through…
Weld Australia has weighed into the conversation on nuclear energy the week after the federal opposition’s plans were announced, warning that Australia lacks the engineers and tradesmen “to build one nuclear power station, let alone seven”. In a statement on Monday, the welding industry peak body gave its view on opposition leader Peter Dutton’s plan…
By Ty Christopher, University of Wollongong and Michelle Voyer, University of Wollongong On the weekend, an area 20km off the Illawarra coast south of Sydney became Australia’s fourth offshore wind energy zone. It’s the most controversial zone to date, with consultation attracting a record 14,211 submissions – of which 65% were opposed. The zone’s declaration…
By Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra Opposition leader Peter Dutton has announced seven sites for reactors, unveiling his long-awaited and highly-controversial policy for nuclear power with the claim it could start operating from the 2030s. The locations are the sites of former or current coal plants. They have the technical attributes needed for a nuclear…
The final recipients of the Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority (SICP) and Defence Global Competitiveness Grant (DGCG) programs have been awarded a cumulative $2.9 million in funding. In a statement on the new DIDG program, which was launched on Monday, industry minister Pat Conroy also shared news of nine grant recipients for the outgoing SICP and…
Program guidelines have been released for Defence Industry Development Grants, with applications to open on Tuesday for the new program which is planned to award $150 million in grants over four years to SMEs DIDG covers four streams – “development of sovereign industrial priorities, export opportunities, technical skills and security controls which are relevant in the…
By Bruce Mountain, Victoria University CSIRO’s latest annual GenCost update, released last month, was billed as Australia’s “most comprehensive electricity generation cost report”. GenCost has proven to be highly controversial. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton previously levelled robust criticism at the report, specifically the high costs attributed to building nuclear power in Australia, and called for…
Industry minister Ed Husic is in the United States this week, including the Californian technology hubs of San Francisco and San Diego, “to showcase a Future Made in Australia”. In a statement over the weekend, Husic said he will be in the US from June 1 to 6 and will lead the nation’s presence at…
The biggest single tender for an Australian renewable energy projects opened on Friday, with bids welcomed for projects delivering 6 gigawatts of generation across the National Electricity Market (NEM.) According to a statement from federal energy minister Chris Bowen, it is the first in a series of six-monthly tenders as part of a plan to…
By Sanjoy Paul, University of Technology Sydney and Priyabrata Chowdhury, RMIT University The shift towards net zero emissions and greater international competition have created new opportunities for clean energy industries – poised to shape the global economy in the coming decades. To harness these opportunities, the government has developed a long-term strategic initiative called the…