Energy

Australian manufacturers are facing their biggest energy risk in decades – Most haven’t noticed yet

By Jonathan Pooch Let me be direct: most Australian manufacturers are carrying a significant energy risk right now, and most of them don’t know it. That world of low, stable energy prices where energy sat in the engineering manager’s inbox and not the boardroom is gone. And the organisations that haven’t updated their thinking are the ones most exposed to what’s coming. The federal government’s Demand Side Statement of Opportunities (DSOO) is a signal worth paying attention to. The study, currently in development by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water with CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator, is expected to be released later this year. It will for the first time formally model the value of industrial energy users as active participants in managing the grid. The CSIRO’s FlexCost study alongside it puts a price on what it costs to incentivise businesses to flex their energy loads, shifting consumption to off-peak periods, storing heat or power for later use, responding dynamically to grid conditions. The first FlexCost report is due this quarter. This is a fundamental shift in how the energy system is being designed. And most manufacturers have no idea what it means for them. Here’s what it means. We are entering a new world of renewables, batteries, solar and electrification, and with it comes a significant and growing risk for manufacturers who haven’t started thinking strategically about energy. Gas prices are up. Price volatility is increasing. The grid is becoming more complex. And at some point, government funding becomes irrelevant, because the energy price itself will force decisions. The question is whether you’re making those decisions under pressure or whether you’ve already mapped your options and can move fast when the moment arrives. I’ve been in enough boardrooms to know that energy is […]

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Cooling is becoming the constraint: how data centre design is changing under pressure

Data centres have traditionally been designed with a focus on compute capacity, with cooling treated as a supporting system that can be scaled as needed. That assumption no longer holds. As demand for data processing continues to grow, driven by cloud services and artificial intelligence, cooling is becoming a primary constraint on how infrastructure is designed, operated and expanded. This shift is particularly relevant in Australia, where rapid growth in digital infrastructure is being balanced against constraints around energy availability, cost and sustainability expectations. As new facilities are developed and existing sites are expanded, operators are facing increasing pressure to optimise both performance and resource use. One of the clearest indicators of this change is the scale of energy required to run modern data centres. Cooling alone accounts for a significant portion of overall consumption, and total demand continues to rise as compute intensity increases. This is not just a question of efficiency. It is a question of whether existing approaches to cooling can keep pace with increasing thermal loads while remaining viable in a constrained energy environment. The result is a shift in how cooling is viewed. It is no longer a downstream engineering decision. It is a core determinant of performance, cost and scalability. This becomes more pronounced as rack densities increase. Traditional air-based systems remain effective at lower densities, but their limitations become more apparent as heat loads rise. Liquid cooling has emerged as a practical response. By using the thermal properties of liquids, systems can remove heat more efficiently and support higher-density infrastructure. However, this is not simply a technology shift. It requires a different approach to system design, integration and operation. In this environment, performance is no longer defined by capacity alone. It is increasingly defined by control. Cooling systems must operate in dynamic conditions, […]

Power surge: Deakin study finds sharing energy cuts costs and boosts fairness

Australia’s first-ever large-scale randomised control trial exploring a new technology that enables households and small businesses to buy and sell solar and battery power, has found to have increased access to solar and battery use, lower electricity prices, and encourage greater perceptions of a fairer energy system. The Virtual Energy Network (VEN) study, led by Deakin Business School and funded by Energy Consumers Australia’s Grants Program, has explored how households and small businesses can be enabled to sell excess solar or battery-stored power directly to others via a digital platform. Dr Andrea La Nauze, lead researcher and energy economist at Deakin University, said the project shows a potential blueprint for creating a more inclusive and flexible energy system in Australia. ‘Helping more people access the benefits of solar and battery power is vital to supporting Australia’s successful transition to net zero,’ Dr La Nauze said. The Virtual Energy Network allows people with solar to decide who their surplus power goes to, and how much they charge for it. It also shows how we can help more Australians access clean energy – even if they cannot install panels themselves. Our research is a significant step toward leveraging this distributed energy resource for the benefit of all Australians, not just those able to install solar themselves.’ About 300 participants from QLD, NSW, Vic and SA joined the study, which has been running since June 2025. One-third of participants did not have rooftop solar or batteries. The online platform allows energy sellers and buyers to trade based on mutually agreed prices. Buyers stand to benefit from power that is typically cheaper than standard electricity rates, while supporting the broader use of local renewable energy. The VEN led to increased utilisation of solar and also helped increase perceptions of a ‘fairer’ energy system among participants. Importing households […]

Dr Gabrielle M Caswell of SpacePort Australia Pty Ltd, a finalist in seven out of 30 Australian Space Awards, 2026

Dr Gabrielle M Caswell of SpacePort Australia Pty Ltd, has been named a finalist in seven out of 30 Australian Space Awards, 2026. Dr Caswell has confirmed her acceptance of the award nominations, she was a finalist in the 2025 (5) and 2024 (3)awards. Dr Caswell says, “It’s an exciting time to be working in space, we are watching the renaissance of human space flight, beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and a return to the Moon.” She continued, “It’s particularly exciting as Artemis II had a smooth launch, and all hands returned to Earth.” Dr Caswell added, “We should remember the pictures of the first landing on the Moon, Apollo 11, Artemis’ brother ship, were directly beamed from Antenna One, Moree OTC, to the world. The Moree OTC station is now decommissioned, the site is 20 minutes from SpacePort Australia. The Honeysuckle Creek Achieves has a wonderful repository of Australia’s long history, of supporting space exploration. It has a great store of images, which are really worth reviewing”. Dr Caswell has spent a large part of her working life in rural and remote environments; she has unique operational insight into the challenges of providing medical care for remote locations, a distinct advantage when understanding the operational space environment. Dr Caswell continues to work in the practices she established over 20 years ago, in rural NSW. SpacePort Austrlaia has a unique niche in the modern space industry, blending engineering with biological and ecological systems management. She continued, “Important concepts for exploration class deep space missions, and remote space colonies, are, by virtue of location, have finite resources. Technology needs to be robust, fixable and serve very precise purposes. The extraterrestrial environment is unique in its overriding hostility towards the human life form.” Dr Caswell’s enthusiasm for science, in all its forms, […]

Existing tax system would deliver $80 billion more tax from higher oil price, report finds

Australia’s oil and gas industry would deliver almost $160 billion in taxes and royalties to governments over the next five years if high international prices persist under existing tax settings, new independent analysis by Wood Mackenzie shows. This represents around $80 billion more than under typical long-term price assumptions equating to nearly $17 billion per year in additional revenue flowing to federal and state budgets. Australian Energy Producers Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said the findings reinforce that Australia’s existing fiscal framework including the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) is already working as intended. “Australia’s oil and gas fiscal regime is designed to deliver strong returns to the community, and this analysis shows it does exactly that, especially when prices are high,” Ms McCulloch said. “As global energy markets tighten and commodity prices increase, the benefit flows directly to Australian governments through higher company tax, royalties and PRRT receipts. “The analysis shows the PRRT would deliver the largest uplift in tax revenue, with a 70 per cent increase in oil prices almost trebling receipts from $13.5 billion to $38.9 billion over five years.” The analysis compares a sustained oil price of around US$120 per barrel with a typical long-term assumption of US$70 per barrel, showing government revenues already increase as commodity prices rise. Ms McCulloch said the findings come at a time when global energy market disruptions have underscored the importance of Australia’s oil and gas industry to domestic supply and regional energy security. “Australia’s oil and gas industry is making a substantial contribution to government revenues, while continuing to deliver reliable energy at home and supporting energy security across our region,” she said. “Domestic gas prices remain stable and well below international levels, and our LNG exports are helping secure supply chains for critical fuels into Australia from key regional partners. […]

Ancient tectonic processes the key to locating rare minerals essential for modern technologies

New research from Adelaide University has revealed that geological processes dating back billions of years are critical to locating the rare earth elements needed for modern technologies and the global clean energy transition. Published today in Science Advances, the study shows a strong global link between ancient subduction zones – where tectonic plates collide – and the formation of rare earth element (REE) deposits and carbonatites, a type of hot molten rock called magma, known to host these valuable resources. Rare earth elements are essential components in technologies such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, and defence systems. However, locating economically viable deposits remains a major global challenge. Led by Professor Carl Spandler from the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, the research team reconstructed Earth’s geological history over the past two billion years using advanced plate tectonic modelling. They identified regions of the Earth’s mantle that had been fertilised by subduction processes, where material from one tectonic plate is forced beneath another, releasing fluids and elements into the overlying mantle. The Adelaide University researchers found that these fertilised mantle regions now underlie approximately 67% of carbonatites and 72% of REE deposits formed over the past 1.8 billion years. For older deposits, that figure rises to 92%. Prof Spandler said the findings provide compelling evidence that ancient subduction zones play a fundamental role in creating the conditions needed for rare earth deposits to form. “This research shows that the ingredients for these critical mineral deposits were put in place many million to even billions of years ago,” Prof Spandler said. “By identifying where these ancient processes occurred, we can significantly narrow down the search areas for future discoveries.” The study also challenges previous theories that linked these deposits primarily to mantle plumes –columns of hot material rising from deep within the […]

Faster approvals critical to realising Queensland’s Taroom Trough opportunity

The Queensland Government’s welcome plan to unlock the Taroom Trough represents a significant opportunity to strengthen Australia’s fuel security and economic resilience. Australian Energy Producers Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said the Taroom Trough has long been recognised by industry as a highly prospective basin with the potential to play a major role in Australia’s energy future. “The Taroom Trough is an exciting opportunity for Queensland and Australia — a significant oil resource that could bolster our fuel security and help to reduce reliance on imports,” Ms McCulloch said. “The industry has long recognised the potential of the Taroom region, and the Queensland Government’s Taroom Trough Development Plan is an important step in encouraging exploration and investment.” Ms McCulloch said the focus must now shift to ensuring projects can proceed without unnecessary delay. “Faster, more efficient approvals and stronger policy settings will be critical to unlocking Taroom and similar basins,” she said. “We need all levels of government working together to fix the approvals system. Carving oil and gas projects out of streamlined reforms under the EPBC was a missed opportunity, and it makes even less sense now given the impacts of the global energy crisis. “There is a significant opportunity not just in Taroom, but across Australia — but it will only be realised with the right policy settings and investment certainty to bring new supply online. “That means encouraging exploration, delivering much faster approvals, and addressing activism and lawfare that is delaying critical energy projects. “Australia has substantial undeveloped oil resources, and developing them is key to strengthening fuel security, supporting regional jobs and helping shield Australians from future global energy shocks.”

GDM Fast-Tracks Cashflow at Challenger Gold Mine

Great Divide Mining Ltd has moved to accelerate near-term cash generation at its wholly owned Challenger Gold Mine in Adelong, NSW, utilising historical mullock stockpiles on site for initial process plant feed. The mullock provides a low-cost and immediate production feed as commissioning works continue. The priority mullock sites — Currajong, Great Victoria/Annetts/Research, Donkey Hill and Radcliffe/O’Briens — comprise stockpiles ranging from 10,500 to 35,000 tonnes at average gold grades between 1.38g/t and 1.6g/t. “The mullock sits at surface, eliminating drilling and conventional mining costs, with short off-road haulage distances to the upgraded Challenger processing plant,” said CEO Justin Haines. “Seizing this opportunity materially strengthens the Company’s restart strategy,” he said. “This is exactly the kind of opportunity we look for at historic goldfields. The material is already mined, it’s sitting at surface, and at grades higher than some operating hard-rock mines,” Mr. Haines continued. “With record gold prices and minimal recovery costs, mullock processing provides a straightforward pathway to early cashflow while we continue ramp-up activities across the broader Challenger site,” he said Local contractor L.A. Broome Contracting will mobilise within two to three weeks to commence haulage of mullock to the ROM pad, ensuring consistent plant feed as commissioning progresses. GDM is taking a “treat-all” strategy to the mullock to maximise gold recovery. Challenger, part of GDM’s 70km² Adelong Project, is being recommissioned under a staged “crawl-walk-run” restart plan designed to establish commercial production while expanding operational capacity. “Cleaning up the mullock onsite is a win for the environment as well,” said Haines.

Why India joining the US alliance on AI tech is an opportunity for Australia

Arup George, Research Manager, UNSW Sydney India has formally joined the United States’ flagship international alliance on artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain security: “Pax Silica”. Officials from both countries signed the Pax Silica declaration on the sidelines of a major AI summit in New Delhi last week. This initiative seeks to bring together US “allies and trusted partners” to lead the global AI race. Australia was a founding member. While Taiwan looks set to keep dominating advanced AI chip manufacturing, it relies on a complex international supply chain, with critical aspects dominated by China. When essential elements come from a narrow set of suppliers, even minor disruptions can ripple globally. Diversity matters. That’s why Australia and India now have an opportunity to become essential international players. Why Washington is building an alliance AI is rapidly becoming a foundational resource of the 21st century across manufacturing, logistics, finance, healthcare, drug discovery and defence. The Pax Silica alliance recognises different countries play distinct and critical roles in building the tech that powers AI. For example, advanced chip-design expertise is concentrated in the US. Key semiconductor manufacturing equipment comes from the Netherlands and Japan. South Korea produces a small but important slice of the world’s AI computer chips. But the biggest chip maker by far is the tiny island nation of Taiwan. Healthcare AI robots at an exhibition at the India AI Impact Summit. AP The world’s chip factory Taiwan produces 90% of the world’s most advanced AI chips, designed by US firms such as Nvidia, Google and AMD. These firms overwhelmingly depend on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). This remains the only manufacturer that can produce the world’s most cutting-edge chips at scale. And their advantage extends beyond making chips. TSMC also possesses unique advanced packaging capabilities that integrate AI accelerators with high-bandwidth memory chips. This is essential for achieving the tight coupling of “compute” […]

Star Electrical and Fuji SMBE Macquarie deliver resilient power infrastructure to $835m John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct

Fuji SMBE Macquarie supplied hundreds of switchboards with customised functions to Star Electrical, the lead contractor for the John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct The NSW Government’s $835 million redevelopment of the John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct (JHHIP) is one of the most significant healthcare infrastructure projects underway in the state. As one of NSW’s busiest hospital campuses – home to a major emergency department and critical acute services – the precinct demands electrical infrastructure that delivers exceptional reliability, safety, and long-term performance. Lead electrical contractor Star Electrical was responsible for sourcing switchboards capable of supporting continuous hospital operations, while also meeting strict compliance, delivery, and budget requirements across the multi-year project. “We chose to source all switchboards for the JHHIP project from Fuji SMBE Macquarie because we consider them a tier-one board builder that can deliver high-quality product at scale, within tight timeframes,” says Robbie Peel, Project Manager – Construction at Star Electrical, which brings more than 60 years’ experience across complex electrical installations. All switchboards supplied by Fuji SMBE Macquarie were manufactured and assembled in Australia and designed and verified in accordance with AS/NZS 61439. In total, the scope included approximately 14 large low-voltage main switchboards and more than 130 miscellaneous distribution boards installed throughout the eight-level facility. “AS/NZS 61439 mandates rigorous design verification to ensure safety, reliability, and performance,” Peel explains. “For a major government healthcare project of this importance, compliance with the standard was essential.” The primary equipment supplied was a commercial low-voltage main switchboard (LV MSB), used for the distribution, control, and protection of electrical power throughout the facility. The switchboards supply downstream distribution boards and final subcircuits while supporting safe operation, coordinated protection, and maintainability within a high-fault-level environment. Designed specifically for healthcare applications, the switchboards incorporated formed construction, fully type-tested switchgear, […]