Tech news from Australia in November 2023 touched on items including: Australian developments in quantum technologies and research; the growing hydrogen fuels space in Australia; opportunities for Australia in space launch systems; and more.
For our other editions, take a look at Asia’s tech news, daily, delivered via LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter/X, and our Indo-Pacific tech newsletters for a weekly email on Asia’s tech scene.
Also available is our November collection of news items covering semiconductors, critical minerals, space launch & satellite technologies.
Australian Signals Directorate Cyber Threat Report 2022-2023
- Australia: Liontown Resources secures Au$1.13BN backing for completion of Kathleen Valley lithium project, with sights on production by mid-2024
- Australia boosts Ukraine support with package including 3D metal printers, counter-drone systems and 5th-gen early-warning radar aircraft
- Australia: Commonwealth Bank launches ‘scam indicator’ developed in partnership with Quantium Telstra, a JV with Telstra telco, aiming to protect both customer sets
- Australia’s Q-CTRL and Quad Investors Network partner to grow quantum workforce in Australia and US, with quantum-focused Black Opal learning platform made available to TAFE students
Australia & semiconductors:
“For Canberra, such an endeavour is of the same magnitude as America’s historic ‘moonshots’ during the 1960s and 1970s. It’s a once-in-a-generation challenge…”
- Australia: Provectus Algae opens 30K-liter demo facility for growing seaweed additive for livestock feed to reduce methane reduction
- Australia: SunDrive secures $11M to scale copper-based solar cells technology, replacing high-cost silver components with 1000-times more abundant low-cost copper
- ‘Australia and the United Kingdom signed a joint statement to cooperate on quantum technology innovation, research and commercialisation’
- Australia: Andromeda Robotics launches initial trials of prototype companion robot, designed to participate in conversational interaction with aged care residents, utilizing Chat GPT-4 AI
- Australia: Queensland AI Hub launch of Townsville Chapter is set for November 16th
ASPI: Australia’s semiconductor manufacturing moonshot – securing talent
- Australia: Wedgetail Aerospace gains country’s first Civil Aviation Safety Authority approval to run large-scale drones in commercial airspace, with sights on mining sector partnerships
- Australia: Digital Transformation Agency to explore tech options for a whole-of-government approach to the use of generative AI, initially seeing three services areas that may benefit
- Australia’s Stone & Chalk tech hub launches Venture Connect, aiming to connect startups with customers and corporations
- Australia: A quick intro to 8 Australian startups that collectively raised $94M in the past week, working in venues management, aviation, social media and more
- Australia: Major cyber-attack puts ports at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle out of action
- Japan’s Toyota Motor has commenced Melbourne testing of a hydrogen-powered vehicle on public roads, using a HiAce commercial van fitted with a hydrogen engine
AgriFutures evokeAG 2024: 40 Startups and 10 Scaleups
- Australia: Indigenous-led First Australians Capital impact fund secures $3M from US fintech Block, owned by Jack Dorsey
- Australia: SunGas Renewables selected by ABEL Energy, a green hydrogen and methanol project developer, to supply green methanol for a new $1.4BN facility in Tasmania
- Australia: Another look at the country’s opportunities in the global semiconductors industry
“Yet, there is still an opportunity for Australia to capitalise on the rise in demand for semiconductors worldwide by complementing, rather than competing against, this fab construction. The secret lies in shaping policies that create a leading technology development ecosystem which feeds into the global supply chain across semiconductors, memory, and quantum technology – the most advanced applications of semiconductors.”
“Australia could focus on an advanced technology research ecosystem to support fabless semiconductor companies. Coincidentally it is memory and fabless semiconductor companies that have seen the most economic profit from 2015 to 2019 at US$94.9 billion and US$81.6 billion, respectively.”
- Australia: Telstra to expand Intercity Fibre project with additional 5000km of fibre by 2027, including cabling between Darwin and Adelaide
- Australia: A video intro to Cauldron, working on a continuous – rather than batch – microbial fermentation process to successfully commercialize low-value, high-volume animal-product alternatives
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: Australia’s north and space
- Australia: ASD Cyber Threat Report 2022-2023 report available now to download, looking in part at the persistent threat that state cyber capabilities pose to the country
- Australia: Uniseed VC fund doubles backers with 5 uni’s joining, allowing the fund to now cover over half of all commercial research output generated by Australian institutions
- Australia: Aerologix drone-tech startup raises $2M with vertical assets inspection focus, acquiring Brazil’s Mappa mapping tech firm to develop North and South America opportunities
- Australia: 13 circular economy startups selected by Boomerang Labs for latest accelerator, working on solutions including food packaging, reusable containers management and more
- Australia: Tide Foundation and RMIT University unveil ‘ineffable cryptography’, a decentralized cybersecurity solution to protect critical infrastructure
AUKUS Jobs: Defense Industry Skills
- Available now: 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy, and Cyber Security Action Plan
- Australia to deploy ‘rapid assistance teams’ to support Pacific Islands nations, focusing on cyber issues, composed of experts from both the private sector and intelligence agencies
- A look at Australia’s opportunities in the space launch industry, building on elements including the country’s location allowing launch to orbit at a lower cost
“As I noted in my recent ASPI report, Australia’s north and space, the launch sites at Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory and Bowen in Queensland, and the proposed launch site at Weipa in northern Queensland, are well placed to take advantage of the earth’s rotational energy to achieve orbit at a lower cost.”
“In addition, the southern launch sites at Whaler’s Way in South Australia, and another proposed for Albany in Western Australia, are ideal for launching payloads into polar and sun-synchronous orbits, given the southern orientation and proximity to open ocean.”
- Australia: CSIRO and Swinburne University launch refuelling station for hydrogen produced with electricity from renewable sources, allowing hydrogen cars to travel emissions-free
- Australia: Kmart in Melbourne is now trialling a self-serve ‘click and collect’ kiosk that brings orders to the customer via warehouse robotics
- HSBC Australia unveils new $228M venture debt fund aimed at supporting Australian tech firms, offering loans from $10M to $30M and targeting VC-backed scaleups ready for their next phase of growth
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: AUKUS and critical minerals
- Download: ‘Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040’ (pdf link)
- Australia: Sparc Hydrogen completes first trial of green hydrogen production using ‘water splitting’, using concentrated solar energy to take hydrogen from water molecules
- ICYMI: Startup Muster 2023 Report, providing an overview of Australian startups and supporters
- The Philippines’ FinTech Alliance and Australian Trade & Investment Commission ink MOU to cooperate on boosting trade and investment in the fintech sector
- India Australia Rapid Innovation & Startup Expansion Accelerator has launched, seeking circular economy technologies and solutions
Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map: 2023 Key Findings Report
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StormWall: DDoS attacks in Asia Pacific in Q3 2023
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