We were so excited to host the Hon Lily D’Ambrosio Minister for Energy & Resources at Austeng yesterday morning (29/03/23) at our hydrogen burner demonstration.

Through the Victorian Governments Renewable Hydrogen Business Ready Fund (BRF), Austeng received $100,000.00 in early stage funding to undertake a feasibility study and develop its hydrogen burner prototype. Renewable hydrogen offers a clean energy alternative for an otherwise difficult to decarbonise process.

The project provides a concrete demonstration of how a cremation furnace can be powered by a blend of hydrogen and natural gas to facilitate a transition to using clean, renewable hydrogen.

Ross George commented, “What you see today is an important enabling technology. This demonstration shows the crematoria sector and mainstream industry more generally, that green hydrogen can be easily, safely and quickly integrated into our respective operations with no business risk. It will also facilitate the demand for green hydrogen and is pivotal in assisting with creating supply chains for this renewable fuel.”

We are very proud that we gained Energy Safe Victoria’s final acceptance for the new technology, which to the best of our knowledge is the first of its kind! Lessons from the project will be applicable to decarbonising other gas-fired industrial processes in the future.

Over 60 people were in attendance at the demonstration to see the Minister “flick the switch” on the blending station.

 

Lily D'Ambrosio visits Austeng to see Hydrogen Burner

Ella George MP, Lyn George, Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, Ross George and Jen Conley stand in front of an Austeng Van

 

Lily D'Ambrosio visits Austeng to see Hydrogen Burner

Jen Conley, Lyn George, Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, Ella George MP, Ross George and Dean Matthews at the Hydrogen Burner demonstration

 

Lily D'Ambrosio visits Austeng to see Hydrogen Burner

Minister for Energy & Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, talks at Austeng’s Hydrogen Burner demonstration

 

Lily D'Ambrosio visits Austeng to see Hydrogen Burner

Ross George, Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, Ella George MP and Christine Couzens MP at the Hydrogen Burner demonstration

 

Lily D'Ambrosio visits Austeng to see Hydrogen Burner

Ross George and Minister Lily D’Ambrosio stand next to Austeng’s Hydrogen Burner

 

Read more about this story on the Geelong Advertisers website here: https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/business/geelong-business/geelong-company-austeng-unveils-hydrogenpowered-burner/news-story/4714223106eaab2dbd3bc90873181292

Russell Brown, Enzo Palombo and David Filipenko standing next to Viridi's processing equipment

Russell Brown, Enzo Palombo and David Filipenko standing next to Viridi’s processing equipment

 

Austeng is proud to have been the engineering partner with start-up company Viridi Innovations to develop a highly effective process that transforms grape seed otherwise destined for land-fill into high value nutrients in a cost effective way as part of a project facilitated by the Fight Food Waste Co-Operative Research Centre.

Hopefully this will make local Australian wine-growers more sustainable and competitive on the global stage.

Participants were also industry partner Swisse Wellness and research partner Swinburne University of Technology

Link to media release here: Viridi Media Release 3.4.23

 

Viridi Processing Equipment

Viridi Grape Seed Processing Equipment

Congratulations to our boilermaker apprentice Tam Quach who won the award for outstanding achievement in Automotive, Engineering and Metal Trades apprenticeship at the recent Gordon Awards Night, 2023.
Tam is in his third year of his apprenticeship and is excelling at Austeng, while surpassing all of his apprenticeship milestones ahead of time.
Congratulations Tam on just recognition for all your hard work!

Tam Quach with his Outstanding Achievement Award in Automotive, Engineering and Metal Trades

Tam Quach with his Outstanding Achievement Award in Automotive, Engineering and Metal Trades

Austeng has helped develop RenewOak’s process of rejuvenating wine barrels that ordinarily would be discarded after four or five years. The RenewOak process uses an abrasive slurry to “sand” internal surfaces without dismantling the barrel. The chemical free process removes all barrel residues along with a fine layer of oak, leaving a clean finish ready to impart the desired properties into the wine.

Austeng has designed and built an automated, mobile unit to allow it to be taken from winery to winery. Not only does the process extend the life of barrels, it reduces the environmental impact of barrel use and provides huge economic benefits to the wine industry by making it more globally efficient.

Austeng Managing Director Ross George said that the RenewOak technology had the potential to launch around the world. Please see attached article from the Geelong Advertiser, and to learn more please check out the RenewOak Website.

RenewOak's mobile wine barrel rejuvenating unit

RenewOak’s mobile wine barrel rejuvenating unit

Austeng is one of the successful recipients of a grant pursuant to the State Government’s Hydrogen Business Ready Fund, setting us up to play a lead role in showing how renewable hydrogen can reduce the environmental impact of the cremation process, via a feasibility study and a prototype demonstration model. It is hoped that ultimately the technology can then be rolled out to other types of fuel furnaces to enable uses to transition to renewable energy.
Watch this space !

Thanks also to the Geelong Cemeteries Trust for their support with this application and project.

For more details, please read this Geelong Advertiser article or this article featured in Stockhead

Hydrogen Burner

Ross George, Lyn George and Frank de Groot with a burner that will be powered by hydrogen

 

Hydrogen Burner

Ross George and Frank de Groot with burner

 

 

Thank  you to Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute &  Brent Balinski for a terrific article on Austeng headed “Austeng – The Geelong Arc of Manufacturing Advancement “ highlighting our efforts to enhance the Geelong entrepreneurial eco-system and promote collaboration in the advanced manufacturing context.

Read the article here AMTIL Aug/Sept 2021 Issue

Capricorn Power

Austeng has purchased a Nissan Leaf EV, (notionally) powered by 30kW of solar panels on the Austeng factory’s roof.

This is Austeng’s second ‘EV’, after upgrading a workshop forklift to a battery forklift last year.

These actions are future proofing our business and helping (in a small way) to save the planet!

Austeng Electric VehicleAusteng Electric Vehicle

Over the 2020 Queen’s Birthday weekend, Lyn was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of her contribution to Australian manufacturing and unwavering leadership throughout Geelong’s transformation into a world-renowned hub in advanced manufacturing.

Since formally joining Austeng in 1993 Lyn has grown increasingly passionate abour manufacturing and the benefits it brings to employment, innovation, environment and community.  Lyn has become a driving force to grow manufacturing in the region, raise public profile and attract new talent into the industry.  This has manifested in many ways including taking up volunteer rolls in key regional industry groups and organisations including,

Chair  –  Geelong Manufacturing Council

Co-Convener  –  Women in Manufacturing Network

Founding Board Member  –  Advanced Fibre Cluster

Steering Committee Member  –  ManuFutures (Deakin University)

Past Board Member  –  Geelong Chamber of Commerce

Steering Commitee Member  –  UNESCO City of Design (City of Greater Geelong)

In the past seven years Lyn has also become an advocate for transformative start-ups in manufacturing.  She has helped innovators, designers and inventors devise bespoke, cost-effective solutions to their manufacturing needs.  As a result, many have grown into thriving businesses.  She is a founding director of two start-up companies namely Capricorn Power and FormFlow.

Lyn is a standout example for women in manufacturing especially considering her training and background in Corporate Law specialising in Federal and Supreme Court litigation.

Austeng is currently collaborating with Imagine Intelligent Materials by manufacturing the first “On-Q Mats “ – a way of managing and recording social distancing (as well as measuring movements) via graphene data sensing in the carpet. Is this way of the future ?
See below video with IIM CEO Chris Gilbey interviewing Ross George, Austeng M/D
Very thought provoking.

Contact Austeng or Imagine Intelligent Materials for more details.

Formflow has signed a licensing agreement with Bluescope which, through the steel manufacturers Lysaght division will see the two companies collaborate on research and development and the commercialisation of Formflow’s distinctive technologies beginning with the C90 product.

Austeng is proud to have worked with Formflow in assisting them in the development and manufacturing of the equipment that produces the C90 bend.

 

See attached Press Release – FormFlow Lysaght Launch

For further information please contact Matt Dingle on 0408147406 or email mdingle@formflow.net.au

Austeng directors Ross and Lyn George feature in AMGC’s Manufacturing Academy as a case study in the ‘Resilience’ module.

Watch the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre video ‘Austeng talks Resilience‘.

A successful performance test is a significant step in the process of delivering 100 year maintenance free Carbon Fibre reinforced Geopolymer bridges for the City of Greater Geelong later in the year with the intention of then rolling the product out throughout Australia and globally.

This project is proving the innovation potential through collaboration.  We thank Rocla, Deakin University and the City of Greater Geelong for their continued passion and support of this world-first project.

Austeng is proud to be partnering with Textile and Composite Industries (TCI) to manufacture and export to Canada and the U.S. The Industrial Hemp Decorticator (that separates/processes stalk) embeds technology that solves a 10,000 year old challenge in the industry.

www.textilecomposties.com.au

See Geelong Advertiser article 10/06/19.

Congratulations to FormFlow on it’s very successful product launch at ManuFutures, Deakin University.

See Geelong advertiser’s article ‘Go with the Flow‘ on FormFlow.

For more information visit FormFlow

Congratulations to Capricorn Power for it’s success in winning the New Energy Award, Australian Technologies Competition in October 2018 for it’s Waste Heat to Energy Engine.

 

Austeng Corporate Director Lyn George was part of two panels at the showcase – one was on the Advanced Fibre Cluster Geelong and the other one on how to encourage more woman into the manufacturing sector.

Austeng features in Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) journal article “Rebooting the business” about its re-consideration of its operating model.

Polymeric Powders and Austeng turning recycled tyres into world-first tech.

Polymeric Powders and Austeng are using end-of-life tyre crumb combined with polyolefin plastic in a ‘world’s first’ process to manufacture a high quality composite material for the manufacture of high quality pipes for uses that include irrigation, drainage and sewerage.

Austeng and Polymeric Powders joined forces on the project following a Geelong Council business development event and with the help of Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), the two companies have been working on the perfecting the manufacturing process the turns tyre crumb into a material for multiple uses.

See the following articles for more information The Australian and Manufacturer’s Monthly.

Scientists and Australian businesses, led by Imagine Intelligent Materials came together this week in Melbourne for the Internet of Industrial Materials Conference 2017 to explore opportunities for Australian industry in the booming Internet of Things (IOT) sector, predicted to be worth $US 11 trillion in less than a decade (McKinsey study).

At the conference Swinburne University and Imagine Intelligent Materials cut the ribbon on the three-year Graphene Supply Chain CRC-P project. The effort is the first of its kind globally, and, backed by $943,937 in Commonwealth funding, will build predictability and replicability in this new advanced manufacturing industry.

The sold out event saw contributions from leading researchers in the field, including from CSIRO and Deakin, Swinburne and Melbourne Universities. Also presenting were experts on the Internet of Things and some of the worlds leading graphene focused companies.

Austeng are a proud to be a major sponsor of the event and participant in the CRC-P project grant with Imagine IIM.

Austeng Managing Director Ross George presents on the topic of Advanced Manufacturing at the Victorian Manufacturing Showcase 2016 held in Ballarat on 18/10/16.

Kit Haselden Photography – www.kithaselden.com

See the Courier Mail’s Article ‘Victorian manufacturers visit Ballarat for first regional hosting of the Victorian Manufacturing Showcase‘ dated 18/10/16