Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Provaris Energy seeks swift restart to compressed hydrogen tank construction

Australian green hydrogen developer Provaris Energy is working with secured lenders to have construction resume of its proprietary compressed hydrogen transport tank for the company’s proposed H2Neo carrier vessel. Earlier this month the company revealed the bankruptcy of Norwegian-based Prodtex Industri AS which operates the Fiska facility in Norway responsible for constructing the prototype tank. Provaris told investors it was focused on submitting a proposal to secured lenders to resume tank construction – the lenders have indicated their preference for a swift sale of secured assets. Provaris is also reviewing alternative contractors and sites in Europe with experience in automation and robotic laser welding. Provaris is preparing a plan to purchase the Fiska facility for the construction of smaller scale hydrogen tanks of one to 10 tonne capacity.

Proteomics appoints new sales agents

Perth biotechnology group Proteomics International Laboratories has appointed medical device sales agency Growth Medics B.V. to help further its expansion in Europe. The agency will focus on the company’s PromarkerD test, the only test available that is able to identify their risk of developing diabetic kidney disease. There are more than 61 million adults with type 2 diabetes in Europe. Growth Medics will assist in identifying, recruiting and managing new partners, as well as providing business development, marketing and administrative support.

Professor Nick Wailes appointed to UNSW Sydney lifelong learning position

Professor Nick Wailes has been appointed inaugural Dean of Lifelong Learning at UNSW Sydney. Wailes joined UNSW in 2013 and is the Director of AGSM and the Senior Deputy Dean (External Engagement) at UNSW Business School and was previously Associate Dean (Digital and Innovation). For more than a decade, he has led the development of innovative programmes focused on meeting the needs of working professionals and their organisations. The position of Dean of Lifelong Learning was created to address the increasing demand for post-experience award qualifications and new shorter forms of learning, including short courses and micro-credentials. According to UNSW, as Dean of Lifelong Learning, Wailes will position the university for continued success, working closely with the faculties to develop programs that meet the ongoing needs of working professionals and their organisations.

Workplace injury and illness costs “tens of thousands of work years”

The cost to Australia of work-related injury, disease and mental health conditions is 41,194 work years annually, or more than 41,000 lost jobs, a new measure of the national burden of workplace injury and illness has found. A Monash University team developed the new ‘Working Years Lost’ metric to measure the national burden of work-based injury, illness and disease resulting in compensation claims, publishing their work in the Medical Journal of Australia. The study aimed to quantify the national burden of working time lost to compensable occupational injury and disease and how working time lost is distributed across age, sex, injury and disease. Professor Alex Collie said, “Normally we track injury and disease at work by counting the number of people making compensation claims or the amount of time they spend off work. This new measure combines those two concepts and presents it as something more meaningful, which can be summarised as the number of people off work for a full year.”

New remanufacturing facility opens in Geelong

A new manufacturing and R&D facility for the medical device remanufacturer Medsalv was opened on Friday at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus. Victorian minister for economic growth Tim Pallas opened the site, which he said is expected to create 49 jobs over the next five years and target exports to potential markets in the Asia Pacific and Europe. The state government supported the extension of ManuFutures  last year with “Manufutures 2” — where Medsalv is located — with $10 million in funding. The new facility will allow the company to remanufacture single-use medical devices from Australian hospitals locally for safe use. “This new facility in Geelong, our first in Australia, represents an exciting step in our drive to change healthcare for good; delivering our sector leading financial, environmental, and social sustainability benefits to more hospitals, through our next generation business model,” said Medsalv founder and CEO Oliver Hunt.

Additive Manufacturing CRC partner workshop to be held next week

With Stage 2 of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Grants application opening in July, the bid team of the Additive Manufacturing CRC will be hosting a partner workshop on Wednesday, June 26 at the ARM Hub (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub) site in Northgate, Brisbane. During the session, the bid team will provide an overview of update on the CRC application, outline its four proposed research programs, and discuss the planned education and training program The workshop will conclude just at 1pm. For more information on the event or to book a spot, visit here.

Advanced Navigation seeks subsea R&D boss

Inertial navigation systems specialist Advanced Navigation is seeking a Head of Subsea R&D, based at the company’s Perth research facility. According to the Sydney-headquartered company, the role is “accountable for all Subsea R&D activities and projects in a fast-paced environment”, and the successful applicant “must display brilliant people and stakeholder management skills”, with  a tertiary qualification in a relevant field and experience “delivering design solutions in a scaled production environment” also included among requirements. More information on the role can be seen here.

New cancer-treating biotech business launched

Ternarx, a new biotech company using novel technology to target cancers that are difficult to treat with existing medicines, has been spun out of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI.) In a statement on Ternarx’s launch on Tuesday, federal health minister Mark Butler described it as a “globally competitive biotech company and commercialise targeted protein degrader medicines and technology” adding that targeted protein degrader technology “is designed to destroy the proteins that underpin cancers” and that “150,000 Australians are diagnosed with cancer every year.” Ternarx will initially focus on neuroblastoma and prostate cancer, expanding its target range if successful to other types of cancer and disease-causing proteins, “like those associated with currently untreatable inflammatory diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.”

Picture: credit University of South Australia