Government response to driving advanced manufacturing in Australia low on commitment – by Sandy Plunkett

Australia’s manufacturing industry will have to continue to forge ahead alone as the government response remains light on details and lack clarity in helping the industry remain resilient. Here, Sandy Plunkett highlights the government’s glaring gaps and lack of commitment to Australia’s advanced manufacturing. The primary takeaway from the Federal government’s long-awaited response to last…

Australia is axing a $7bn military satellite project, leaving defence comms potentially vulnerable

By David Tuffley, Griffith University In a significant blow to Australia’s defence capabilities, the federal government is cancelling what would have been the nation’s largest-ever space project: a A$7 billion military satellite communications system. The decision was confirmed in a press statement today. It comes just 18 months after the Albanese government gave the green…

Australia has just been handed a map for getting to net zero. Here’s how it will guide us

By Anna Malos, Monash University; Josh Solomonsz, Climateworks Centre, and Matthew Benetti, Climateworks Centre Australia’s push for net-zero emissions received a welcome boost on Thursday, with the release of an official report showing how Australia can seek to cut domestic emissions across each sector of the economy. The Climate Change Authority prepared the report, which…

Australia won’t have ‘green steel’ to itself. Africa is poised to become a global hub

By Charlie Huang, RMIT University Australia is at the forefront of efforts to turn steelmaking green. Earlier this year Australian iron ore producers Rio Tinto teamed up with Australian steelmaker BlueScope to develop “near-zero emission-intensity” pathways for making steel from Pilbara iron ore. Renewable electricity and hydrogen would replace coking coal. Iron ore miner Fortescue…

Solar above, batteries below: here’s how warehouses and shopping centres could produce 25% of Australia’s power

By Bruce Mountain, Victoria University Imagine if Australian cities became major producers of clean energy, rather than relying on far-flung solar and wind farms. Far fetched? Hardly. Our cities and towns are full of warehouses, commercial areas, shopping centres and factories. These types of buildings have one very important underutilised resource – large expanses of…

Australian team to develop health monitoring device for space passengers

The Australian National University, Axiom Space and Aqacia are partnering through a project supported by the iLAuNCH Trailblazer to develop a wearable space health device. According to a statement from iLAuNCH on Tuesday, the device “will sense, transmit, and real-time assess health data in remote areas including sub-orbital flights” and help “enable real-time simulation, diagnosis,…