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An innovative Australian renewable energy startup is scaling up its cost-effective gravity-based energy storage technology after forming a partnership with a major international engineering services company. Green Gravity will work with global giant GHD to commercialise the application of its system, which revolves around the principles of gravity and kinetic energy – in this case, lowering ultra-heavy weights down old mine shafts – to store and dispatch renewable energy. “Green Gravity’s technology represents a breakthrough in the search for economic long-duration storage of renewable energy,” says the company’s CEO Mark Swinnerton. “By re-using mining assets, costs can be kept low. By using gravity as the fuel, we dispense with consuming the critical water, land and chemicals that other storage technologies rely on.

Spanish renewable energy giant Acciona Energia has announced a A$2 billion expansion of one of the largest wind farms in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. The development will double the capacity of Queensland’s MacIntyre Wind Precinct to 2,000MW, providing enough power for 1.4 million homes and boosting the state’s commitment to becoming a renewable energy superpower. The new project also doubles the investment by Acciona Energia in the MacIntyre region, being developed in partnership with government-owned energy company CleanCo. “With this project we expect to dramatically accelerate the decarbonisation of Queensland’s electricity grid,” says Acciona Energia’s Managing Director in Australia Brett Wickham.

A pioneering Australian technology developer has invented a next-generation collapsible shipping container that is set to revolutionise the global shipping and logistics industry. Spectainer’s automated COLLAPSECON solution collapses up to four containers into one without cranes or manual labour, drastically cutting the cost of handling, storing and transporting empty shipping containers – a multi-billion-dollar problem for the industry. A tracking device on each container provides data on fleet movements and carbon emissions. “Our mission is to pioneer the future of global trade by creating innovative, practical and scalable solutions to evolve the shipping and logistics sector,” says Spectainer’s Founder and Managing Director Nicholas Press.

A five-year investment strategy is set to turbocharge Australia’s largest regional economy and accelerate growth in priority industries such as clean energy, circular economy, manufacturing, defence and agrifood. The New South Wales Government’s Regional Investment Attraction Strategy 2022–27 outlines the support and opportunities for businesses looking to expand or establish projects in the state’s regional precincts. It includes A$110 million in grant funding and aims to leverage A$1 billion in private sector investment. “We want to co-invest with businesses from across Australia and around the world to set up and deliver game-changing projects in regional NSW,” says Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole.

The Australian Government and national science agency CSIRO are partnering with Google to better understand and use natural carbon sinks found in the Indo-Pacific and Australian coastlines to combat climate change. Blue carbon ecosystems – such as mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass – provide long-term carbon storage. The project will combine artificial intelligence and data science with climate science. It will investigate new ways to accurately monitor, map and report on seagrass and associated biodiversity indicators. The collaboration is part of Google's Digital Future Initiative - a A$1 billion investment in Australian infrastructure, research and partnerships.

US medtech giant Stryker has opened its first R&D lab in Australia – a multi-million-dollar facility that will focus on digital health, robotics, clinical software and advanced manufacturing. Located in a collaborative health precinct in the Queensland capital of Brisbane, the investment will see Stryker work with some of Australia’s leading universities and medical research institutes to develop new health products and technologies. “With its world-class research institutions and highly skilled workforce, Australia has the capabilities Stryker needs to develop and produce the next generation of innovative medical technology,” says President of Stryker South Pacific Maurice Ben-Mayor.

In a world first, Australian dairy tech company Naturo has developed a fresh milk that it says is twice as digestible as other processed cow’s milk. Naturo’s groundbreaking Haelen Technology – first used to extend the shelf life of fresh milk – breaks down whey proteins in milk more than other standard milk processing, allowing for easier and faster digestion. “This latest digestibility finding is an incredible market breakthrough and has seen us shift our business strategy to allow worldwide Haelen Technology partnerships and licensing agreements. It opens the door to new products and new market opportunities,” says Naturo founder and CEO Jeff Hastings.

Australia and Japan have signed a new partnership to help secure crucial supply chains of critical minerals needed for the development of clean energy technologies. The partnership will promote opportunities for sharing information and collaboration in areas such as research, investment and commercial arrangements on joint projects. As well as strengthening Australia’s booming critical minerals sector, the new deal opens up opportunities for more foreign investment in the industry. “This new partnership … will help Australia further develop its abundant reserves of critical minerals, which will ultimately help both countries achieve their emissions reductions targets,” says Minister for Resources Madeleine King.

Australia is expected to become the second largest net-exporter of low-emissions hydrogen by 2030 and the largest by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency’s 2022 edition of its World Energy Outlook. This would see it exporting just over 50 billion cubic metres of natural gas equivalent (bcme). Globally, low-emissions hydrogen production is currently less than around 3.3 bcme. The largest net-import markets for low-emissions hydrogen in 2050 will be the European Union followed by Japan and South Korea. The Australian Government has already formed partnerships that support hydrogen market development with governments including Germany, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, India and the United Kingdom.

The Digital Games Tax Offset has moved a step closer after the Australian Government confirmed legislation underpinning the incentive would be tabled in Parliament in the coming months. The 30 per cent refundable tax offset will be available to eligible games developers that spend a minimum of $500,000 on qualifying Australian development expenditure. “We’re committed to incentivising the industry’s growth here in Australia, and this Offset will enable us to continue building a strong games and interactive entertainment sector,” says Minister for the Arts Tony Burke. “From The Hobbit back in the 1980s right up to Unpacking – Australian developers have a proud history, and we want to nurture that well into the future.”

The Australian Government has unveiled its 2022-23 Federal Budget, outlining plans to build a “more resilient, more inclusive and more modern” economy. Acknowledging the uncertain global environment, Treasurer Jim Chalmers emphasised the need for “responsible economic management” and said the government was making “quality investments in the capacity of the Australian economy and the capabilities of the Australian people”. Alongside a package of skills measures, major commitments include the A$15 billion National Reconstruction Fund to help finance projects that expand Australia’s industrial base and diversify the economy; the A$20 billion Rewiring the Nation scheme to support electricity infrastructure upgrades and ultimately cleaner energy; A$2.4 billion for the National Broadband Network; and more than A$120 billion in transport infrastructure.

Unique Australian beverages made from hand-harvested native ingredients are capturing awards and showcasing the sustainable practices of the world’s oldest culture. Launched in 2021, First Nations-owned and led company Seven Seasons uses green ants, bush apples and yams for its gin and vodka products, which have already won medals in the London Spirits Competition and the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition. Founder and former Australian Rules footballer Daniel Motlop – from the Larrakia people, traditional owners of the Darwin region – now has his sights set on overseas expansion when the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement comes into force. “Our range is inspired by the Seven Seasons as laid down by the Larrakia people,” he says. “We harvest only what we need each season to ensure a plentiful annual return.”