Energy

Construction and mining the next frontier of robotics adoption

In the past, for heavy industry-related locations like mines, robots were controlled by teleoperation or navigate autonomously across uneven terrain or within subterranean interiors with little to no human interaction. This was the same for construction sites, where robots must understand changing floor plans, keep track of inventory, and navigate stairs. Thanks to advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), wireless telecommunications, location-based technologies, and navigation systems, this is being realised. Modern robotics tend to be associated with either indoor environments like factories and warehouses, or in the home. But there is a multitude of other, less structured and more challenging environments where AMRs are only just beginning to proliferate. Advanced mobility enabling autonomous navigation will empower robotics vendors in construction, extraction and elsewhere. While in 2018, 28.7% of commercial robots’ shipments had some degree of autonomous navigation, in 2027, the percentage will be 79.3%. Construction robots may be involved in specific tasks, such as brick-laying, painting, loading, and bulldozing. We can expect hundreds of AMRs in the next 2 years, mainly doing haulage. These robots help to protect workers from a hazardous working environment, reduce workplace injuries, and address labour shortages. For the robots to operate in challenging, hostile, and unsafe environments without human assistance, the key beneficiaries will be OEMs who choose to adopt navigation-providing operation systems (OS) from third-party providers. Specialist robot companies have a greater opportunity to attract capital due to increased interest, and with the formulation of cloud services from AWS and Google, have more opportunity than ever to develop advanced capabilities like mobile manipulation and advanced analytics. However, they will struggle to get an in-house solution off the ground without partnering with third-party providers on localisation and navigation technologies. Given the complexity of localisation, mapping, and navigation alone, a delegation of responsibility to third-party providers is […]

Australia Facing a Brick Wall of Blackouts

by Jerry Ellis and Sir Rod Carnegie The Chairman of the Saltbush Club, Mr Jerry Ellis, today warned that Australia needs more reliable baseload power. With the population and the economy growing, but with electricity availability and reliability in decline, we are racing headlong into a brick wall of blackouts. Recession and disruption will probably follow, bringing to mind those memorable 1990 words of Paul Keating: ‘This is the recession we had to have’. Except in this case the recession will be self-inflicted. Much of my working life was in the steel industry in the 1970s and 1980s. It operated 24×7, with large numbers of electric motors requiring a continuous supply of low-cost electrical power. Un-planned interruptions were rare, but when they occurred they were very costly. Now we face the prospect of planned and unplanned loss of power due to the rundown of base-load power capacity. It must be a nightmare for today’s steelmakers and aluminium refineries facing this growing crisis. It is essential that Australia rebalances economic imperatives against populist ideas regarding the release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. A strong Australian economy is crucial to Australia’s welfare and will also make a valuable contribution to world prosperity. Australia produces a tiny proportion of the world’s carbon dioxide. Even total closure of our industry would have no detectable impact on carbon dioxide emissions or global climate. We urgently need new supplies of reliable energy from coal, gas, hydro or nuclear.” Jerry Ellis was supported by Sir Rod Carnegie, former Managing Director, CEO and Chairman of CRA (Rio Tinto) who said: “It is essential that Australia regains its reputation for cheap reliable electricity or we will lose our manufacturing and refining industries, returning only to our backbone industries of agriculture and mining”. Jerry Ellis once managed Australia’s biggest […]

Revolutionary power-efficient solution for network energy infrastructure

An exclusive Australian supplier of DC Power Converters and energy solutions, Powerbox Australia, recently released EnergyHub by Enatel Energy at Comms Connect Melbourne Exhibition and Conference. More than 1500 people from a broad range of industries attended this years event seeking out the very latest communications information, technologies and solutions. EnergyHub is a complete lithium-ion power solution for providers of power utilities, telecommunications and security, as well as transport operators. These industry sectors have historically relied on lead-acid battery solutions and worn the associated operation costs. Incorporating both DC rectifier technology and integrated lithium-ion battery modules, EnergyHub from Enatel Energy offers a truly dynamic li-ion solution. EnergyHub offers significant financial benefits because solutions are more efficient and less maintenance is required over the long term, vastly reducing operational costs when compared to the conventional lead-acid type batteries still widely used. As organisations begin to work with brand new EnergyHub, they will notice that this revolutionary system allows for much greater energy density and depth of discharge. “EnergyHub, which utilises li-on batteries, leaves more room for revenue-generating network equipment. Tight cell management from Enatel’s proprietary BMS in combination with the new RM848HE Rectifiers allows for optimised charging/discharging to improve system functionality,” said James Rutty, Business Development Manager of Powerbox Australia. “In addition, the EnergyHub requires zero set-up cost, can be easily scaled up to meet changing load demands and it shares a hot pluggable interface with EnergyPak battery modules to maximise usability.” According to Mr Rutty, safety of the system is ensured with the use of ‘Cold Terminal Design’, which stops voltage from travelling through the battery’s power and control pins to cut off the supply of current when it’s not connected to the charger. EnergyHub offers complete transparency of all energy data including battery cycle life, depth of discharge information, […]

Gloucester Resources court decision benefits our competitors

Statement by Greg Evans, Chief Executive Last week’s decision by the NSW Land and Environment court to decline a development application for the Rocky Hill coal mine is detrimental for jobs and economic opportunities in regional NSW. It also places the approval process for new resource investment in a position of confusion and uncertainty. The beneficiaries from the latest NSW court decision will be producers with spare production capacity including those in the United States, Canada, Russia and Mongolia. Further, the decision potentially presents a set of new obstacles that producers in NSW could face with expansion and new mine approvals. Industry analysis by Commodity Insights in late 2018 relating to metallurgical coal demand, forecasts an increased import requirement in Asia of close to 100 million tonnes annually by 2030. In part this will be met by increases in output from other countries to the detriment of projects such as Rocky Hill. The potential missed economic opportunity is even greater if we reject new thermal coal developments. The basis of the court knock back includes the view that the project will add to global greenhouse gas emissions. The court indicates it can consider as part of its decision the greenhouse emissions from coal as it is used in the making of steel in another country. In other words, if this rationale became accepted all our resource exports would have to account for the emissions applying to their downstream use, including gas, iron ore and thermal coal. However, under the Paris Agreement it’s up to individual countries to put in place Nationally Determined Contribution plans to deal with emissions at their source. It’s not about the unilateral banning of particular industries or commodities in supplier countries. Of course, the United States, a significant coal exporter, is not even part of the […]

Rio Tinto completes sale of Dunkerque aluminium smelter

Rio Tinto has completed the sale of its aluminium smelter at Dunkerque, France, to Liberty House for $500 million. Liberty House, which is part of the GFG Alliance (Gupta Family Group), has committed to continuing operations at the smelter and has announced plans for the development of additional activity around the site. As previously announced, the proceeds will be returned to shareholders, with the precise timing and form to be announced with Rio Tinto’s 2018 full year results. Rio Tinto estimates that there will be no material tax payable on this transaction.

Revolutionary power-efficient solution for network energy infrastructure

An exclusive Australian supplier of DC Power Converters and energy solutions, Powerbox Australia, recently released EnergyHub by Enatel Energy at Comms Connect Melbourne Exhibition and Conference. More than 1500 people from a broad range of industries attended the event seeking out the very latest communications information, technologies and solutions. EnergyHub is a complete lithium-ion power solution for providers of power utilities, telecommunications and security, as well as transport operators. These industry sectors have historically relied on lead-acid battery solutions and worn the associated operation costs. Incorporating both DC rectifier technology and integrated lithium-ion battery modules, EnergyHub from Enatel Energy offers a truly dynamic li-ion solution. EnergyHub offers significant financial benefits because solutions are more efficient and less maintenance is required over the long term, vastly reducing operational costs when compared to the conventional lead-acid type batteries still widely used. As organisations begin to work with brand new EnergyHub, they will notice that this revolutionary system allows for much greater energy density and depth of discharge. “EnergyHub, which utilises li-on batteries, leaves more room for revenue-generating network equipment. Tight cell management from Enatel’s proprietary BMS in combination with the new RM848HE Rectifiers allows for optimised charging/discharging to improve system functionality,” said James Rutty, Business Development Manager of Powerbox Australia. “In addition, the EnergyHub requires zero set-up cost, can be easily scaled up to meet changing load demands and it shares a hot pluggable interface with EnergyPak battery modules to maximise usability.” According to Mr Rutty, safety of the system is ensured with the use of ‘Cold Terminal Design’, which stops voltage from travelling through the battery’s power and control pins to cut off the supply of current when it’s not connected to the charger. EnergyHub offers complete transparency of all energy data including battery cycle life, depth of discharge information, cell […]

University takes quantum leap in race to build first super battery

A South Australian university has recruited a leading quantum physics expert in a bid to win the race to build the world’s first quantum battery. Dr James Quach has joined the University of Adelaide’s School of Physical Sciences for four years under a Ramsay Fellowship. He will work within the Precision Measurement Group in the University’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS). The new super battery, with the potential for instantaneous charging, could replace conventional batteries in small electronic devices such as a watch, phone, iPad or computer or any other product that relies on stored energy. Eventually it is hoped larger quantum batteries could provide opportunities for the renewable energy sector. Dr Quach, who has previously been a researcher at the University of Melbourne and the ICFO Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, said that unlike ordinary batteries, quantum batteries would theoretically charge faster the more you have of them. Dr James Quach will work under a Ramsay Fellowship to develop a quantum battery. “If one quantum battery takes one hour to charge, then two would take 30 minutes, three would take 20 minutes, and so on. If you had 10,000 batteries, they would all charge in less than a second,” he said. This is possible thanks to a feature of quantum mechanics known as entanglement. “Quantum mechanics deals with interactions at the very smallest of scales, at the levels of atoms and molecules – at this level you get very special properties that violate the conventional laws of physics,” said Dr Quach. “One of those properties is ‘entanglement’. When two objects are entangled it means that their individual properties are always shared – they somehow lose their sense of individuality. “It’s because of entanglement that it becomes possible to speed up the battery charging process.” South Australia is a global renewable energy […]

Archer’s Jamieson Tank manganese project capable of battery production

Archer Exploration Limited (ASX: AXE), is pleased to announce outstanding results from recent metallurgical test work conducted on a composite drill sample sourced from the Company’s 100% owned Jamieson Tank Manganese Project (located near Cleve, South Australia). The metallurgical test work was completed by Kemetco Research Inc, the same company that did the Ketchowla manganese and cobalt test work (ASX announcement 12 February 2018), and showed that the Jamieson Tank manganese was capable of making an EMD product with a manganese content of >92%, which is the standard required for alkaline and lithium-ion batteries The test work involved the leaching of the manganese from the old drill sample provided by Archer, purification of the leach to remove iron, cobalt, nickel and other potentially deleterious elements and finally the precipitation of the electrolytic manganese dioxide onto graphite cathode and titanium anodes. Executive Chairman, Greg English commented: “It is very exciting that our manganese at Jamieson Tank has been independently shown to be suitable in the production of high-grade manganese EMD, with its high-value applications in emerging and established battery technologies. This is consistent with our expanding exploration portfolio focus on advanced materials and reliable energy storage technologies.” Mr English continued: “The Jamieson Tank Manganese Project complements our nearby Campoona graphite and graphene project with its granted mining tenements, and our other manganese and cobalt exploration prospects at Ketchowla and North Broken Hill. We look forward to updating the market on further developments over the coming weeks.” The Jamieson Tank Manganese Project The Jamieson Tank Manganese Project straddles two separate tenements both owned by Archer: Carappee Hill (site of the proposed Sugarloaf Graphite Processing Facility) and Waddikee. The Carappee Hill portion was initially drilled by Archer in 2008 with follow up drilling under a joint venture between Archer and the manganese miner […]

Australian Tritium gears up to increase production

Tritium’s new manufacturing facility will increase capacity seven fold Production capacity for 6,000 chargers per year High-tech manufacturing jobs to triple Brisbane, Australia 4 October 2017: Tritium, the Australian technology company that is an international leader in the development and manufacture of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, has officially opened its Global HQ and major manufacturing facility in Brisbane, which will enable it to increase its capacity potential seven fold. In a ceremony, attended by the Honourable Mark Bailey MP, Minister for Main Roads, Safety and Ports, Energy, Biofuels and Water Supply, Tritium announced the new facility will enable the company to produce 6,000 Veefil fast chargers for electric vehicles a year and will triple the number of high-tech manufacturing jobs. Tritium’s CEO David Finn explained the new manufacturing plant was a learning line “This facility will allow us to fine tune our production process, and make sure we are hitting the high quality levels we want to achieve. However, in the future we will need to be manufacturing closer to our core markets and within five years we estimate Brisbane will be just a small output in our production capacity. “Around 95% of our sales are export and we currently are seeing a lot of activity in public charging networks in Europe and the US.” “The Veefil-RT 50kW fast charger, which was ten years in development, was only launched four years ago and has been an outstanding international success, with innovative new technology developed in house. It was the start of a range of fast chargers that is continuing to grow and we are preparing for three new products to be launched next year.” The Veefil-RT is operational in 22 countries with an impressive customer base of international infrastructure providers, including ChargePoint, Stromnetz, Fortum Charge & Drive. As […]

Large-scale battery storage to transform renewable energy future

The announcement that the world’s largest lithium ion battery will be installed in South Australia by the end of 2017, will transform and fast track reliable renewable energy in Australia, as well as globally, according to a leading energy industry authority Dr Alex Wonhas, Managing Director, Energy, Resources & Manufacturing of global engineering and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon. Under an agreement with the South Australian Government, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Tesla, and the French renewable energy group Neoen, the battery, three times more powerful than any other system in the world, will be designed to provide power to the grid at times of generation shortfall, as well as providing stability to the network, day and night. “The coupling of renewable energy with large scale battery storage is a fundamental requirement for an affordable, reliable and sustainable energy future for Australia,” said Dr Wonhas, who was previously Executive Director for CSIRO’s environment, energy and resources sector. “South Australia is now set to lead the charge in battery storage that will, in turn, revolutionise the way in which renewable energy is integrated into electricity networks. Aurecon is the Specialist and Technical Engineering Advisor to the Government of South Australia for the implementation of its Energy Plan. The company is providing advice across the entire programme, including the 100 MW battery, emergency gas generator and power supply contracts. The announcement of the world’s largest lithium ion grid connected battery system at 100 MW/129 MWh is the culmination of three months of intensive work by Aurecon. This included evaluation and shortlisting of expression of interest submissions, development of the technical and functional requirements of the system and invitation to supply documents, evaluation of respondent proposals and negotiations to enable the final contract to be signed. Aurecon also supported the Government to engage with various […]

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