A $3.5 million Australian Army project to develop a convoy of autonomous trucks that use technology to ‘follow the leader’, reducing the need for troops and the risks they face, has successfully completed a series of road trials. The autonomous leader-follower vehicle technology, using modified Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles–Australia (RMMV-A) trucks, was developed under a contract…
Australia’s ageing offshore oil and gas infrastructure faces $50 billion in costs with a high powered advisory committee established by the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) to address the challenges and maximise business opportunities involved. Six industry leaders have been appointed to an advisory panel including experts from ExxonMobil, Santos, Baker Hughes, IAS Group and…
A novel oyster farming system developed by New Zealand manufacturer FlipFarm Systems has helped Coffin Bay oyster farmer Angel Seafood report record revenue in the September quarter. Reporting sales of Pacific oysters of $2.7 million CEO Zac Halman said stock levels had improved, mortality rates had fallen and sales were up with prices rising. This…
Graphene development company Sparc Technologies and the University of Adelaide have joined forces to develop ultra-green hydrogen that can be manufactured without electrolysis and solar PV and wind energy. The two will form a joint venture company Sparc Hydrogen majority owned by Sparc to develop the technology that produces hydrogen through the use of a…
Defence, space and telecommunications manufacturer Electro Optic Systems has clawed back most of the customer payments for its biggest defence contract delayed due to Covid-19, but nonetheless been forced to slash profit outlook for the current financial year. The Canberra company cut guidance for underlying operating profit (EBIT) for FY22, excluding costs associated with its…
Since Beijing moved to curtail Australian exports to China in May last year – not of course our coking coal and iron ore on which China depends – manufactured exports have mostly managed to avoid much of the pain. In the three categories – wine, meat and copper – that are manufactured or substantially transformed…
By Peter Roberts The federal government’s plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 has been officially launched. But my job in analysing the outcome of agonising negotiations within the Coalition – where perhaps a quarter to a third of MPs are open climate denialists – is not made easy because there is absolutely no…
Universal Biosensors executes US distribution deal Electrochemical test developer Universal Biosensors has signed another distribution deal in the United States for the company’s Sentia wine testing platform device. Vinmetrica (USA) will be non-exclusive distributor for a three year term for Sentia, which tests wine for sulphur dioxide, glucose, malic acid and other components of wine.…
Energy and LNG export group Woodside has announced plans to spend an initial $1 billion constructing a hydrogen and ammonia production plant at Kwinana south of Perth with output destined for export. However – bucking the recent trend – the plant will not be totally ‘green’. Woodside said that its H2Perth project (pictured) would produce…
Industrial automation group Robert Bosch Australia and Brisbane’s Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd are negotiating terms over the design and delivery of a Graphene Aluminium Ion Battery (G+AI Battery) manufacturing plant. GMG and Bosch have signed a non-binding Letter of Intent, with the aim to agree on binding terms for the development of an automated battery…