Paul Allen co-founder of Microsoft recent said in a statement. “That’s the thing about new platforms: when they become easily available, convenient and affordable, they attract and enable other visionaries and entrepreneurs to realise more new concepts.” The converse is also true, on your own without a platform, it’s a very hard road to get…
Uber is familiar to most of us and is representative of the new economy where information transforms industries, but it hasn’t been an overnight success. In fact, it was actually founded in 2009, which makes it seven years old and has spawned a whole range of allied and similar services. Emerging technologies all require a…
Like many other renewable energy technologies, grid connected wave and tidal energy seems poised ready for the kind of global build-out we saw in wind, which will bring a range of market opportunities. There are also emerging niche marine energy opportunities which are disconnected from the wholesale price of a kilowatt of electricity which governs…
It is eight years since the global financial crisis (GFC) started and few would say things are ‘back to normal’. But most companies who survived have adjusted to the new normal of sluggish global growth, and in New Zealand’s case, marginal domestic growth. Looking back its obvious what happened: The GFC caused the purse strings…
In 2009 HERA put a proposal to Government to work with companies to transition them to being innovative and match fit for a competitive export market. While the proposal was not successful, HERA took up the challenge in establishing the Above Ground Geothermal and Allied Technologies (AGGAT) programme which is part funded by MBIE, and…
Being in New Zealand, it is easy to sometimes think that we are alone in the world – cut off from the mainstream and doing things our own way. And to some extent that is true, we are geographically isolated, we don’t have a multitude of large corporations driving innovation and pulling our smaller companies…
Steel volumes being processed through industry are on the rise, which is a good indicator of activity. The statistics show us that after an almost 40% fall due to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) volumes have reached the peak before last which was in 2005 and are close to reaching pre-GFC levels. The impact of…
The NZ Geothermal Workshop, held in Taupo this year, had a higher attendance and number of presentations than in the past, and presented a very positive vibe for the geothermal industry overall. A number of delegates from the AGGAT team also attended this conference from both HERA and University of Auckland. The AGGAT team members…
The media has been full of the news that Fullers ferries are adding two additional 34 metre, 360-seat ferries to their fleet. More importantly, they are having the vessels built by Q-West boat builders in Whanganui. The total value of the order is $16 Million. Q-West built Fuller’s existing Te Kotuku high speed catamaran that…
As previously reported, HERA took up Minister’s Joyce’s offer made at the re-opening of HERA House to investigate why industry funding from (heavy engineering research) levy-funded activities are not able to attract Government R&D funding support in the same way direct industry R&D money does. The main point of HERA’s letter was our concern that…
Announced in the Budget on the 21st May was an item around the establishment of independent regional research institutes. The intent being that the Government would provide funding towards the establishment of a number of institutes to be located in regional areas and not in the three large centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The…
Scotland has around the same population as New Zealand and like New Zealand, the metal fabrication industry has benefited from oil and gas, especially those located close to the oilfields of the North Sea. A large amount of fabrication was needed during the establishment phase of the industry, then ongoing upgrades, maintenance and expansions. With…