Latest Industry News
- Digitising sustainability using AI on water infrastructure project July 16, 2026The challenge of managing sustainability at scale Infrastructure projects pursuing formal sustainability ratings face a common problem: the evidence is everywhere and the system to manage it rarely exists. Evidence sits across spreadsheets, shared drives, emails and consultant reports, while one or two people carry the burden of tracking dozens of interlocking requirements across a multi-year […]
- Concerns rise over AI data centre adoption in Australia July 15, 2026Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that data centres built in Australia will need to provide their own energy and minimise water use as part of the government’s new Australian Standards for AI. The national framework — which will be overseen the newly appointed Office of AI — has been put in place to […]
- SiteHive Weather monitoring device July 14, 2026Australian environmental technology company SiteHive has launched SiteHive Weather, a system that integrates hyper-local weather monitoring directly into its environmental monitoring platform. The system combines onsite weather monitoring with the SiteHive Enviro platform, creating a single source that brings together weather, dust, noise, vibration and water data in one cloud-based system. Key capabilities of the […]
- 'Passive house' study reveals key energy savings July 14, 2026A comparative ‘passive house’ study has been used to underpin design decisions at Frasers Property Australia’s Bradmill community at Yarraville. Frasers Property undertook the study at its Life, Point Cook community, constructing two identical houses, one a 6-Star ‘business as usual’ (BAU) home and the other adhering to international gold standard ‘Passivhaus’ standards. The pilot […]
- Study finds safer method for rechargeable battery recycling July 13, 2026Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have come up with a new way of recycling the metals found in rechargeable batteries, with less harmful effects for people and the environment, while maintaining the same level of efficiency. The study investigates how fossil-based chemicals used in metal recovery can be replaced with alternatives produced […]
- $142m project to invest in Tasmanian forestry plantations July 13, 2026The CEFC, Aviva Investors and Gresham House have launched a $142 million project to invest in sustainable forestry plantations in Tasmania. The project is set to create local jobs and inject capital into the regional economy while generating Australian Carbon Credits Units (ACCUs) and protecting a Ramsar wetland. The new Tasmania Natural Asset Trust (TNAT) […]
- Engineers extract lithium using low-water alternative July 8, 2026Engineers have developed a new technology that enables the direct extraction of lithium from solid salt mixtures derived from brines, providing a low-water, low-energy alternative to conventional lithium extraction methods. Lithium recovered from salt-lake brines represents a major component of global supply, but extraction processes typically have low recovery efficiencies, long processing times and high […]
- New method recycles mixed plastic packaging sans chemicals July 8, 2026As global plastic production is projected to reach 736 million tonnes by 2040, scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a method to recycle mixed plastic packaging without using harmful chemical solvents. Mixed plastic packaging is made up of several different plastics bonded tightly together, making it challenging to recycle. Even if […]
- Analysis shows AI's water use demands immediate action July 8, 2026The explosive rise of artificial intelligence is creating an urgent and largely invisible pressure on the world’s most precious resource: water. New analysis highlighted by ISOIL Industria warns that every AI prompt is backed by data centres that require intensive cooling, often using vast volumes of water to prevent servers from overheating. The article reports […]
- Microbubbles remove microplastics from wastewater July 7, 2026RMIT University researchers have tested a way to capture microplastics from wastewater, using a combination of microbubbles and nanobubbles to achieve removal rates of more than 90%. The dual-bubble approach can be adopted by wastewater treatment plants without major infrastructure changes by optimising existing operating conditions, including air pressure, saturation time and bubble size. Lead […]
- New way to recycle coloured plastics using silica microspheres July 6, 2026When plastics are recycled, the various colours mix to create dark, low-value materials in a process known as downcycling. Conventional recycling methods cannot effectively separate colourants from plastics. Alternatively, chemical decomposition methods to remove colourants exist, but they require high temperatures of 300–500°C and lead to substantial energy consumption. These limitations thus present a growing […]
- Partnership boosts bio-based graphite material deployment July 6, 2026Battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) has entered into a strategic investment partnership with CarbonScape Ltd, a New Zealand-founded developer of sustainable bio-based graphite materials for battery applications. The collaboration combines CarbonScape’s biographite technology with CATL’s experience in industrialisation, manufacturing and large-scale deployment. The transaction provides CATL with board representation, and positions it as an important […]