NIOA New Zealand opens new Christchurch HQ

The NIOA Group’s New Zealand division has held an official opening at its Christchurch office, its new headquarters in the country after relocating from Auckland. According to a statement from the firearms, weapons and munitions company on Wednesday, the new office, warehouse and distribution centre at Rolleston will be its central hub in NZ, where…

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Is your car a threat to national security? It can be – regardless of where it’s made

By Dennis B. Desmond, University of the Sunshine Coast In April, US lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to ban Chinese-built electric vehicles (EVs), labelling them an “existential threat to the American auto industry”. The proposed ban arose from concerns that Chinese car makers have an unfair advantage due to government financial support. Following a months-long…

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BluGlass to provide chips for blue ocean LiDAR project

Semiconductor developer and maker BluGlass has announced a project with Macquarie University and defence contractor Aurizn aimed at commercialising a method of laser-based sensing for underwater environments.  In a statement to the ASX on Wednesday, BluGlass said the LIDAR sensing method would be used to measure subsurface water temperature and depth, with the project part-funded…

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Defence industry security portal upgrade

Defence has modernised membership processes for the Defence Industry Security Program which ensures the security of the defence-industry relationship and supply chain. The latest DISP Membership Portal capability release (pictured) enables self-management services for existing DISP companies for the first time. The capability release will also uplift the cyber security assessment process to align with…

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Altech completes sodium battery construction

Sodium battery developer Altech Batteries has announced that its first CERENERGY ABS60 battery prototype is online and operating successfully having completed all physical tests ‘with flying colours’. The prototype was installed at Altech’s joint venture partner Fraunhofer IKTS’ test laboratory in Dresden, Germany, and integrated into a specially designed battery test station. This setup enables…

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iLAuNCH backs green innovation in epoxy resins for composites

Adelaide-based green innovation company Change Climate Pty Ltd has teamed with three iLAuNCH Trailblazer universities to explore the suitability of a bio-epoxy resin for the manufacture of durable composites for aerospace applications. The University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), The Australian National University and the University of South Australia will work with Climate Change, the maker…

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Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Changes made to Austal’s board Perth shipbuilder Austal has announced two changes to its Board of Directors. After serving six years as a non-independent director, Chris Indermaur will not seek re-election at Austal’s upcoming AGM and will retire. Austal has appointed experienced international finance executive and board member Brent Cubis as a non-executive director (NED).…

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ClearVue makes first sale of solar building envelope modules

Building-integrated photovoltaics company ClearVue Technologies has received the first order for its solar building envelope solution, which will be installed at the Enex100 building on St George’s Terrace in Perth’s CBD. In a statement on Tuesday, the company told investors that the upcoming cladding installation – expected to be installed in mid-2025 – was validation…

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