Water and wastewater treatment company De.mem has won a $2.6 million contract to provide a seawater desalination plant for innovative fruit and vegetable grower Sundrop Farms. The plant, which will utilise ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes, will be manufactured at De.mem’s Brisbane plant. Sundrop, a world leader in the use of solar concentrator electricity generation…
The Western Australian budget includes a record $5.7 billion investment in Perth’s METRONET rail services, including the first tranche of funding for local pasasenger train construction. The budget includes spending of $1.7 billion on rail projects in 2020-21 for the the Forrestfield-Airport Link and the Thornlie-Cockburn link now under construction. Three other rail line extensions…
Explosives manufacturer Orica has outlined the short-term costs of an efficiency drive and investment programme which has been underway for several years. The Melbourne company has delayed its reporting of full year results by two weeks and told investors that underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would be ‘slightly above $600 million.’ Chief executive…
The future USS Mobile (LCS 26) has successfully completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of delivery to the United States Navy (USN). The 13th Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, The vessel is a high-speed, shallow-draft surface combatant with an aluminium trimaran hull. Austal Chief Executive Officer…
By Denham Sadler Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has unveiled his alternate vision for Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on revitalising local manufacturing through renewable energy and defence industry spending. Mr Albanese delivered his budget response speech on Thursday, criticising Josh Frydenberg’s second budget for its short-term politics and lack of longer-term…
Sydney appliance manufacturing icon Zip Industries has launches a first-of-its kind contactless hot, cold and sparkling domestic and commercial water tap in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, which pioneered instant boiling water taps for homes and offices, has created the HydroTap Touch-Free Wave (pictured), a contactless version of its flagship HydroTap that will…
Manufacturers have experienced a sudden shift from cheap, fossil fuel electricity to expensive generation. Now the shift to renewables is on, and manufacturers are beginning to free themselves from the grasp of high fossil fuel prices. Here sustainability and cleantech leader Ben Waters discusses the new reality of renewably generated electricity. Manufacturing is key to…
The Defence Innovation Hub has announced its latest round of grants to industry worth $28 million, with grant funds going to nine new contracts and two existing projects. Two of the recipients, BlueZone Group and QinetiQ, were awarded contracts to further develop promising technologies that have previously received grant funding support. BlueZone Group won a…
Marine systems manufacturer VEEM has launched a range of innovative propellers (pictured) designed for the luxury superyacht market. The Perth company, best known for its vessel stabiliser systems, has added its patented Interceptor technology which allows users to quickly change the relative pitch of the propellers. The technology is already used in other VEEM propellers.…
Analysis by Peter Roberts Aluminium refiner Rio Tinto could be pointing a way for its aluminium smelters to survive with a move to develop low-carbon aluminium for use in making beer cans. Rio Tinto already makes RenewAl, a low CO2 primary aluminium brand. Now the company and the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev)…