By Peter Roberts Korea’s Hanwha defence group has abandoned its takeover bid for Australia’s most successful indigenous owned defence manufacturer Austal, according to media reports this morning. The takeover was ended in a letter to Austal from Hanwha Ocean CEO Hyek Woong Kwon titled ‘Termination of discussions with Austal’. The company blamed Austal’s ‘insistence’ that…
By Peter Roberts The emerging pattern of Australia digging up the critical minerals while others finance the construction of value adding processing in their own markets is repeating itself in battery material manganese, with Element 25 securing lucrative US government support. Element 25, which is developing the Butcherbird manganese deposit in Western Australia’s Pilbara, has…
Engineers at RMIT University have designed an innovative tubular structural system that can be packed flat for easier transport and pop up into strong building materials. This breakthrough is made possible by a self-locking system inspired by curved-crease origami — a technique that uses curved crease lines in paper folding. Lead researchers, Dr Jeff (Ting-Uei)…
By Peter Roberts The award of a second contract in the United States for shipbuilder Austal to build facilities for constructing modules for US nuclear powered submarines should put paid to talk of allowing the Perth shipbuilder to be taken over by Korean interests. Austal USA has been awarded a $220 million (US$152 million) contract…
Mining and green hydrogen developer Iron Road has received Foreign Investment Review Board approval for its giant Cape Hardy hydrogen and metals manufacturing project on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. FIRB approval unlocks $4.5 million payments from its partner AMP Energy, with an initial $1.5 million Cape Hardy milestone payment from Amp Energy received,…
The global steel market is cyclical and currently battling Chinese over-supply, and so too is cynicism about GFG Alliance’s ability to transition the Whyalla steelworks to a green steel future. With renewed scepticism facing GFG, and part way through a green transition, GFG Alliance Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta remains confident of Whyalla’s future – this…
Incremental innovation rules for Serena Ross, the CEO of Circuitwise Electronics Manufacturing and one of our panellists at @AuManufacturing‘s webinar taking place this week on Thursday 19 September (more information and sign up here). Serena will discuss during the webinar Towards 3% R&D – Where to from here?, how Circuitwise has been able to triple…
By Peter Roberts Both major political parties should hang their heads in shame for allowing Australia’s value-adding manufacturing sector to sink to become such a small share of our economy. No single party is responsible for us being the least complex economy among advanced nations, however a special place is held by the Liberal-National coalition…
Timing technology company QuantX Labs has announced the landmark first sales of its state-of-the-art optical atomic clocks. The company recently signed two contracts with the Department of Defence totalling over $2.7 million. Supporting Australian Defence Force requirements, QuantX will deliver a mobile precision timing test bed for Defence Systems to Defence Science and Technology Group…
What is more mystifying than one sweet treat enjoyed in Adelaide but shunned by consumers in other markets around Australia? Well, two mystifying Adelaide treats of course. Such is a new sweet treat launched in the festival city that combines delicacies from two iconic Adelaide manufacturers. They combine one Balfours Bakery Frog Cake – those…