Western Australia will soon be home to a world class grains research and development hub to develop research in crop pathology and genetics. The research project was announced on Wednesday 3 August by the deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water, alongside West Australian Minister for Agriculture and Food. The project has received a $3 million Research and Development Corporation grant. $1.5 million was received by Murdoch University, $250,000 from Curtin University and $250,000 from the WA Department […]
Plans have been made by new company A2emCo to manufacture autonomous electric vehicles in Australia. The prototype has already been designed and CEO Michael Molitor expects the cars to be on the road by Q1 2020. An Australian battery gigafactory is also a possibility. Former head of operations at Tesla, Peter Carlsson, believes that 120-150 gigafactories will be required between 2020 and 2030. Molitor concludes, “So there’s going to be a gigafactory in Australia; there are going to be gigafactories […]
A five-year, $23.7 million dung beetle project has been announced this week that will help control parasites. Two new species of French dung beetle will be provided to over 1,000 livestock producers around south-eastern Australia. The scheme will use dung beetles as ‘ecosystem engineers’ in order to improve the health of soil and pastures and reduce the spread of diseases and nutrient run-off into waterways. These beetles will be active in spring and it is hoped that they will decimate […]
The Australian biotech industry has concerns about an overhaul of the R&D tax incentive scheme, which could involve eligibility restrictions and cuts. The government has proposed capping R&D tax refunds at $2 million, which could be realised in this month’s federal budget. The uncertainty has already impacted the sector, with both Australian and international companies reconsidering doing clinical trials here. As Chris Nave, managing director of Brandon Capital Partners commented, “$2 million isn’t worth the cost of setting up an […]