US defence technology company Leidos Australia and Perth’s Terra15 will together develop an easily deployable underwater sensor that will strengthen Australia’s maritime security. The partners and the University of Melbourne’s School of Engineering have received a $1.6 million Defence Innovation Hub contract to develop the technology. Announcing the grant defence industry minister Melissa Price said…
By Joseph Brookes Net zero emissions by 2050 is the minimum target Australia needs to improve its economy, according to Andrew Liveris, who has urged the federal government to commit to the long-term target and a 2030 mark as soon as possible. Liveris, a former chief executive of Dow Chemical, helped architect the $1.5 billion…
Wire additive manufacturing (WAM) technology group AML3D and Deakin University are to jointly develop optimised technology for high strength alloys, such as wire feedstock for 3D printing and welding markets. Following earlier success in a welding wire composition project with support from IMCRC, the company and Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) will focus on…
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle engine manufacturer Orbital UAV is to upgrade the engines on United States-based Textron Systems’ existing fleet of tactical UAV’s which include the Shadow, Aerosonde and Aerosonde HQ drones. The contract will see the development of upgrades of the UAV engines of the Aerosonde program, targeting increased take-off power and improved real-timed engine…
Pokie machine manufacturer and online game developer Aristocrat Leisure is making a massive $5 billion play to expand its booming online gambling businesses. The Sydney company is to raise $1.3 billion in new capital to acquire leading online gambling software and content supplier Playtech for $5 billion. The move vastly accelerates its global growth strategy…
Tasmania’s Lark Distilling Co. is to buy Pontville Distillery and Estate for $40 million, construct a new 1 million litre distillery and accelerate its single malt whisky export operations. The company is raising $53 million through a fully underwritten share placement of $46.5 million and a further non-underwritten conditional placement of $6.4 million. It will…
Ampcontrol has been awarded twice for ‘Excellence in Product Design’ and ‘Collaboration Partnership’ at the 2021 Hunter Manufacturing Awards. The Boundary Power Solar Cube (main picture), a rapidly deployable Stand-Alone Power System (SAPS) received the accolade for Excellence in Product Design. And Ampcontrol’s collaboration with Steber International and The University of Newcastle to develop a…
Analysis by Peter Roberts The more time passes since the Prime Minister’s sudden cancelling of our order for French submarines in favour of US or British nuclear ones, the more obvious it is that Australia will never actually acquire them. Not only that, the more time passes the more obvious it is that even if…
2022 is going to be the year of Polly Waffle Chocolate manufacturer Robern Menz is to reintroduce the Polly Waffle chocolate bar to the market in 2022, following on from their success with the relaunching of the Violet Crumble honeycomb bar. Backed by a $1 million Modernising Manufacturing grant, the Adelaide company is spending $5.2…
The federal government has awarded a $3.3 million contract to a Brisbane robotics and AI company to develop an unmanned combat vehicle. Announcing the grant to Cyborg Dynamics the minister for defence industry Melissa Price said the weapon would be ‘the likes of which has never been made in Australia’. Cyborg Dynamics’ innovation will integrate…