Two University of Southern Queensland (USQ) researchers, whose work is said to have the potential to revolutionise manufacturing, have been awarded a total of $480,000 in Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship funding to help drive their research into materials innovations. Queensland’s Innovation Minister Kate Jones awarded nanotechnology researcher Dr Leila Javazmi $180,000 towards her work … Continue reading Funding boost awarded to building materials researchers →

A new type of concrete made out of waste materials that can bend under load has been developed and patented by researchers at Swinburne. “Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world,” Dr Behzad Nematollahi said. “In fact, it is the second-most consumed material by human beings after water. Its quality has … Continue reading Bendable concrete developed at Swinburne →

Minister for Defence Industry, Melissa Price, has indicated that Defence may be closer to securing the 15,000 jobs needed to tackle national shipbuilding projects, after Defence Department and National Naval Shipbuilding College officials held talks with General Motors’ representatives last week about redeployment opportunities for Holden staff. Out of the 15,000 construction and supply chain … Continue reading Holden’s workforce could be redeployed to Naval Shipbuilding project →

A total of $2.9 million in funding will help Bae Systems Australia’s shipbuilding business, ASC Shipbuilding, develop and pilot Industry 4.0 manufacturing technologies to build the Hunter class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy at the Osborne shipyard in South Australia. The Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) will contribute $1.45 million in grant funding … Continue reading $2.9m to drive digital manufacturing in Hunter Class frigates →

Compounds containing metals could hold the key to the next generation of antibiotics to combat the growing threat of global antibiotic resistance, according to University of Queensland researchers (UQ). “This is promising research because the scientific community is struggling to keep up with the pace of bacterial resistance,” Dr Mark Blaskovich said. “There are around … Continue reading Metals could be link to new antibiotics →

Chemistry Australia has launched Plastics Stewardship Australia, an initiative to support the sustainable use and recovery of plastics, at the inaugural National Plastics Summit on Monday, at Parliament House in Canberra. “Our industry is committed to improving how people use and recover plastics, which is why we’ve established the Plastics Stewardship Australia initiative,” Plastics Stewardship … Continue reading Chemistry Australia to help manufacturers pursue sustainability goals →

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers have detailed how carbon-based organic materials used for their colour as dyes can be used to produce stretchable and biodegradable electronic devices. “With the fast growth of high-mobility materials, they are increasingly considered for use in stretchable electronic devices that can provide unique mechanical properties including being able to … Continue reading QUT researchers turning pigments into stretchable electronics →

Western Australia’s strategy to capitalise on its substantial reserves of minerals used in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries has contributed to the state’s recent economic growth, according to an industry report released by Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Bill Johnston. “The (Future Battery Industry Strategy) strategy provides consistent and co-ordinated actions to ensure the WA … Continue reading WA capitalising on lithium-ion battery demand →

Rheinmetall has launched an Australian research and technology program to develop sovereign automated military vehicle capability. The aim is to develop advanced sovereign robotics and automated vehicle technologies, which will create a local automated military vehicle capability, together with the Defence Science and Technology (DST) group, the CSIRO, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the … Continue reading Rheinmetall launches automated vehicle research in Australia →

The final Air Warfare Destroyer, built at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, has been officially handed over to Defence. NUSHIP Sydney is the final of the three ships delivered by the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance which includes the Department of Defence, Raytheon Australia, and ASC Shipbuilding, supported by Navantia Australia. “I congratulate the 5000 workers who … Continue reading Final Air Warfare Destroyer completed at SA shipyard →

Australian Paper will go ahead with its proposed acquisition of Orora Fibre, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it would not oppose the acquisition. First announced in October, the $1.72 billion sale will see the package manufacturing division of Orora sold to Australian Paper which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese company … Continue reading Packaging manufacturer merger to go ahead →

Australian shipmaker Austal’s latest development in high-speed trimaran technology, an 83 metre trimaran ferry, has been revealed at the company’s shipyard in Western Australia. Under construction for a Japanese ferry operator, the Austal Hull 396, or ‘Queen Beetle’, was designed and constructed by Austal Australia and is due for launch in mid-March 2020. The vessel … Continue reading Austal’s WA shipyard launches new trimaran →

The first of Queensland’s Defence Industry Hubs has officially opened in Ipswich. The $5 million facility will help local businesses take advantage of the growing opportunities in defence. “We already have a significant defence industry supply chain established in the Ipswich region, but we want more small-to-medium enterprises to take advantage of the growing opportunities,” … Continue reading Queensland opens $5 million Defence Industry Hub →

The technology needed for manufacturers to make the transition to renewable-powered electrification is already readily available and could double manufacturing efficiency, according to a report by climate change think tank, Beyond Zero Emissions. The report argues, however, that state policy green light is required to make it accessible to Victorian manufacturers. “The technology Victorian manufacturers … Continue reading Zero emissions manufacturing achievable, says think tank →

Local manufacturer Basic Trailers is expanding its operations in South Australia, where Holden’s Elizabeth plant was the center of the company’s production in Australia and where belief that this marks the nail in the coffin of Australian manufacturing is strong. Basic Trailers has expanded rapidly since opening in 2018, and will now move to larger … Continue reading Basic Trailers expands operations in SA →

Gladstone has been selected as the location for The Hydrogen Utility’s (H2U) latest project, a multi-billion dollar chemical complex for industrial-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia. “A project of this scale requires a large, accessible site, where complex industrial processing can occur,” Minister for State Development, Cameron Dick, said. “With green hydrogen and ammonia … Continue reading Gigawatt-scale hydrogen and ammonia plant to be built in Gladstone →

After well over a decade of research and development, local manufacturer Helitak Fire Fighting Equipment will soon be fitting its fire-fighting invention to helicopters across the globe, thanks to support from the federal Accelerating Commercialisation grants program. Making the announcement, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said Helitak Fire Fighting Equipment will receive … Continue reading Helitak equipment to go global thanks to federal grant →

Queanbeyan-based Lintek has developed a manufacturing system that doubles the production capacity of its printed circuit boards for phased array radar and electronic warfare systems, which forms part of the F-35 program. Minister for Defence Industry, Melissa Price, announced on Wednesday that Lintek’s enhanced capacity had increased their likelihood of winning further contracts in the … Continue reading NSW manufacturer doubles production capacity for F-35 program →

A proposed $470 million vanadium mine in North West Queensland has this week been declared a prescribed project. The project will include facilities for processing the vanadium for use in batteries, chemical applications and in high-strength steel production. “The proponent will mine and process vanadium for use in the growth market of vanadium batteries and … Continue reading Queensland to streamline approvals for vanadium mine →

In what is Australia’s largest defence deal in metal additive manufacturing, local company Titomic will provide two metal additive manufacturing (metal 3d printing) machines to global defence supplier Composite Technology for $25.5 million. “Composite Technology is pleased to partner with Titomic to introduce Titomic Kinetic Fusion systems into its current manufacturing process,” Composite Technology founder, … Continue reading Titomic lands $25.5 million deal with global defence supplier →