Future tech builders supercharged to develop Australia-Korea partnerships

Australia’s leading tech and engineering academy is excited to announce support for eight leading-edge innovators to collaborate with Korean counterparts, through  the Global Connections Fund.

The Global Connections Fund – a partnership of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources and the Australian Academy for Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) - supports Australian tech leaders to collaborate with Korean counterparts to develop, test and prototype new technologies.

A total of $560,733 in new grants will empower eight researchers and SMEs working in priority areas such as renewable energy, robotics and biotechnology – all areas key to Australia’s future.

“The Global Connections Fund supports Australian researchers and innovators partnering with Korean counterparts to work together to build technology for a thriving future,” said ATSE CEO Dr Kylie Walker.

“It helps to kickstart and support important collaborations in some of our most crucial priorities, including robotics, biotechnology and renewable energy.

“We’re proud to support Australian and Korean teams to work together to develop and commercialise technology that will benefit our region and the world.

“We’re investing in initiatives including designing smarter food packaging that reduces waste, helping the mining industry decarbonise, and growing human brain tissue in labs to help fight neurological disease.”

More information on the Global Connections Fund is available here.

(image courtesy of Electric Power Conversions Australia)

Project details

Renewable energy and resources

Offshore Wind Farm Cable Watch

Patrick Cha – EOS Australia P/L

Offshore wind farms rely on undersea power cables to deliver electricity from ocean-based turbines to the shore. These cables are exposed to harsh marine conditions and are difficult to inspect, making them one of the most failure-prone and expensive parts of offshore energy infrastructure. Cable failures currently account for the majority of insurance claims in the global offshore wind sector and can lead to serious power disruptions. This project aims to develop a real-time monitoring system that can detect strain, vibration, and early signs of fatigue in subsea power cables, especially at the vulnerable point where the cable touches the seafloor. 

Enabling Mobile PV Recycling: Regulatory Investigations and Pathways

Moonyong Kim – UNSW Sydney

This project addresses the regulatory and policy barriers that currently hinder the deployment of mobile photovoltaic (PV) recycling technology in Australia. Through a strategic partnership between Australian researchers and a Korean SME, Wonkwang S&T, the project aims to establish a Regulatory Analysis Working Group to systematically investigate environmental, transport, and waste management regulations impacting mobile recycling operations. 

Battery R&D for Optimised Electrification of 100-Tonne Mining Trucks

Clayton Fraklin – Electric Power Conversions Australia

The mining industry is under increasing pressure to decarbonise, yet haul trucks remain one of the largest contributors to emissions on mine sites, with 50% of the 16.6 Mt Co2e emissions from mining being from diesel machinery. A single diesel-powered CAT777 truck burns approximately 435,000 litres of diesel annually, producing over 1,175 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. While electric alternatives exist, new-built electric trucks are costly and slow to deploy due to engineering challenges. EPCA has pioneered a retrofit model that converts existing diesel trucks to battery-electric using a circular economy approach. 

Scalable Hydrogen-on-Demand Systems Using Advanced Membrane Technologies for Global Deployment

Matthew Hill – Monash University

The global hydrogen economy requires scalable, safe, and cost-effective hydrogen transport and distribution. A major challenge is hydrogen's low volumetric energy density, which makes storage and shipping inefficient and costly. Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs) offer a promising alternative, enabling hydrogen to be chemically stored in stable liquids like methylcyclohexane (MCH) and released on-demand at the point of use. By applying advanced membrane materials and catalytic systems, this project proposes a low-temperature, low-energy solution for hydrogen liberation from LOHCs.  

Robotics

Multichannel AI(LLM)-Driven Robot Fleet Control System

Chanoh Park – RoviPro

Small- and medium-sized factories, warehouses and farms rarely deploy today’s fleet-management software because it assumes stable Wi-Fi, rigid pre-planned scripts and a PC dashboard. When networks fade or tasks change mid-shift, operators have no quick way to reroute robots. We will demonstrate a twelve-month proof of concept for a “voice-and-text first” fleet controller that works through ordinary VHF/UHF radios and mobile phones. 

A Serious Game to Simulate AI and Robotic Platforms for Assisting Shipyard Transporters

Russell Brinkworth – Flinders University

In Korean shipyards, the transportation of large ship blocks relies on heavy-duty vehicles known as transporters, whose movement is currently directed by four human signal operators to ensure safe navigation. This process is not only labour-intensive but also closely linked to workplace safety. There is a clear opportunity to explore the integration of robotics—specifically, AI-vision enabled robotic platforms such as quadruped robots and/or multi-rotor drones—to either replace or augment human operators in this context.

Biotechnology

Ammonia-Responsive Contraction Actuator for Smart Food Packaging

Shima Jafarzadeh – Deakin University, Waurn Pond

Food waste and food safety are critical challenges for Australia, costing the economy approximately $36.6 billion annually. A major contributor to this issue is the lack of reliable, affordable tools that allow consumers and the supply chain to detect food spoilage early and accurately. Current smart packaging technologies are often expensive, require electronics, or are not scalable for widespread use. This project addresses this gap by developing a low-cost, passive smart packaging indicator that visibly signals when food, particularly meat and seafood, has spoiled. 

Building an ecosystem for Bio-Mimetic Nanotopography for Scalable Lab-grown Human Brain Tissue

Ann Na Cho – The University of Sydney

Neurological disorders are among the most complex and economically burdensome diseases cost the Australian economy over $31 billion annually, with a critical need for physiologically relevant preclinical models. Advances in stem cell biology have enabled the generation of brain organoids, laboratory-grown brain tissues that recapitulate the cellular diversity, cytoarchitecture, and functionality of the human brain. However, current organoid platforms lack the brain’s ecosystem referred as extracellular matrix (ECM), a key component governing tissue development and integration. This project addresses this gap by integrating ecosystem-mimetic nano-topographies into organoid biofabrication.