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RSS SubscribeWednesday 2nd November 2011
ACT research fabrication facility helps drive innovation
by DIISRTE
A cutting edge facility that will support key research and contribute to Australia’s innovative manufacturing sector was opened at The Australian National University today.
Opening the ACT node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said it would support cross-disciplinary research, addressing national and global challenges by researching and prototyping new materials.
“Already, researchers using this node have developed an innovative approach to making high-performance nanowire solar cell technology which will contribute to Australia’s low carbon future,” Senator Carr said.
“This will make solar cells more economically viable by increasing their energy conversion efficiency and reducing the cost of manufacturing by enabling larger scale production.
”This is a fine example of how important high quality research infrastructure is to Australia’s innovation system. World-class research is the key to a thriving innovation system and world-class research requires world-class tools.“
Senator Carr said the Australian Government had recognised the ANFF’s importance by investing $91 million from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and the Education Investment Fund Super Science initiative.
The ANFF is a collaborative network involving more than 19 research institutions that gives researchers and industry access to state-of-the-art facilities. The facilities allow metals, composites, ceramics and polymers to be processed for application in sensors, medical devices, high resolution lenses and nanoelectronics.
”ANFF research is helping to retain highly skilled Australian research scientists in Australia, benefiting not just the Australian economy, but the Australian community with their skills," Senator Carr said.
