By John Quiggin, The University of Queensland The federal government’s announcement of a A$600 million rescue package for Glencore’s copper smelting and refining operations in Mount Isa and Townsville marks a definitive shift in Australia’s industry policy. The announcement follows the $2.4 billion rescue of the Whyalla steelworks, and a smaller assistance package for metals…
A new magnetic resin sorbent developed at University of Queensland will soon be trialled to remove PFAS, enabling treated biosolids to be reused as fertiliser. The substance was developed at the university’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) by Dr Cheng Zhang, whose team will work with collaborative partners to apply it to semi-solid…
What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) Conflux Joins Honeywell-led hybrid-powered aircraft R&D consortium Additively manufactured heat exchanger specialist Conflux Technology has joined the Honeywell-led TheMa4HERA consortium, a project focussing on thermal management for hybrid-electric regional aircraft. According to a statement from Conflux, the clean aviation project TheMa4HERA…
ACCC will not oppose acquisition of BGC Cementitious The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said on Thursday that it will not oppose the acquisition of BGC Cementitious by Cement Australia, Holcim, Heidelberg Materials Australia (HMA) and Adbri. The ACCC said it decided not to oppose the transaction after the merger parties amended their original proposal.…
A startup is aiming to commercialise a desktop-sized device invented at University of Queensland and able to make the “workhorse chemical” hydrogen peroxide from water and air. According to a statement from UQ on Tuesday, its commercialisation vehicle Uniquest has licenced the device to Evimien Energy, which hopes to change production for an industrial chemical…
Forget expensive laboratory equipment costing thousands of dollars – University of Queensland researchers have cracked the code for a DNA analysis device you can literally print at home for the price of a decent dinner out. The Do-It-Yourself Nucleic Acid Fluorometer, cheekily dubbed DIYNAFLUOR, transforms genetic research from an exclusive club into a garage-friendly hobby.…
The University of Queensland’s Molecular Clamp technology has been acquired by global healthcare giant Sanofi in a landmark deal worth up to US$1.6 billion – the largest involving a company commercialising intellectual property from an Australian university. Sanofi entered into an agreement to acquire Vicebio, a company formed in 2018 to develop UQ’s proprietary Molecular…
Picture this: a spacecraft hurtling towards Earth at over 30,000 kilometres per hour, surrounded by a blazing fireball hot enough to melt steel. Now imagine deflecting that inferno with nothing but the power of magnets. That’s exactly what University of Queensland researchers are working on in what sounds like something straight out of a science…
Picture this: a building has collapsed after an earthquake, rescue crews are racing against time to find survivors buried in the rubble, and their secret weapon isn’t a robot or drone – it’s a beetle wearing a tiny backpack. University of Queensland researchers have turned science fiction into reality by creating what they cheerfully call…
Australian scientists have successfully transferred precision fermentation technology for creating dairy proteins from laboratory to industry, marking a breakthrough for alternative dairy production. The University of Queensland team, led by Professor Esteban Marcellin, has produced dairy proteins using Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator research bioreactors and transferred the technology to Sydney-based company All G for…