The research and development project led by Dr Rahman Daiyan, in collaboration with industry partners, will receive a total of more than $4 million.

UNSW researchers are set to scale up a next-generation electrolyser system that helps produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using renewable energy, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the TRaCE Lab to Market Fund.

The electrolyser converts carbon dioxide and water into precursors that can then ultimately be turned into green fuel for aircraft.

The funding from&nbsp;<a href="https://unsw-my.sharepoint.com/personal/z3525182_ad_unsw_edu_au1/Documents/Documents/trace.org.au" target="_blank">TRaCE</a>, the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy program established by the Australian Department of Education, has been boosted by industry partners to total $4.2 million, with the aim of achieving a critical breakthrough in the reduction of emissions in aviation.

The UNSW-led project, involving&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/rahman-daiyan" target="_blank">Dr Rahman Daiyan</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/rose-amal" target="_blank">Scientia Professor Rose Amal</a>, and adjunct Professor Jimmy Yun, will work in association with Australian partner Tjindu Power and Chuangqi Times (Qingdao) Technology Company, a clean tech developer based in China.

The team have already developed a carbon dioxide electrolyser system using low-cost transition metal and carbon catalysts, which can be integrated with the well-established Fischer-Tropsch process to produce sustainable aviation fuel.

Decarbonising aviation is one of the toughest challenges in the race to net zero. Unlike cars or homes, planes can’t easily switch to be electrified and the fuels they burn release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Globally, aviation accounts for about 2-3% of emissions, but it's a fast-growing sector with limited alternatives.

Many emerging clean energy technologies aim to replace fossil fuel production with sustainable aviation fuels and e-fuels but these solutions are still expensive, energy-intensive, and not yet ready for mass deployment.

"Our goal is to revolutionise how we produce clean fuels for aviation, using renewable energy to transform CO₂ into usable fuels without requiring costly infrastructure changes. This technology could be the key to decarbonising aviation, one of the world's most challenging sectors," said Dr Daiyan, a Scientia Fellow in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/our-schools/minerals-and-energy-resources-engineering" target="_blank">School of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineering</a>, and Lead Chief Investigator at UNSW.

Scientia Prof. Amal, from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/our-schools/chemical-engineering" target="_blank">School of Chemical Engineering</a>, added: “This breakthrough proves that with smart catalyst design and integrated system thinking, we can transform waste CO₂ into the very fuels that drive our economy.

"It’s the kind of scalable innovation we need to tackle hard-to-abate sectors and achieve net zero.”

The grant from TRaCE will help to move the technology from TRL 4 (proof-of-concept in the lab) to TRL 6 (validated prototype in a relevant environment).

A spin-out company, Gurung Fuel, led by the industry partners, has been created to lead commercialisation, stakeholder engagement, and capital raising.

“This partnership is a major step towards scaling the cutting-edge electrolyser technology. We're not just developing a solution, we are creating a game-changer for the aviation industry, with the potential to make a global impact,” said Prof. Yun from Chuangqi Times (Qingdao).

The research project is a strategic opportunity for Australia, which is facing a critical challenge in its fuel security.

Currently, the nation holds only 48 days' worth of fuel reserves – far below the 90 days required by international standards. The nation’s heavy reliance on imported fuel also makes it vulnerable to global disruptions and recent geopolitical crises have underscored the urgent need for a sustainable and self-sufficient solution.

The research and development project led by Dr Rahman Daiyan, in collaboration with industry partners, will receive a total of more than $4 million.UNSW researchers are set to scale up a next-generation electrolyser system that helps produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using renewable energy, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the TRaCE Lab to Market Fund.The electrolyser converts carbon dioxide and water into precursors that can then ultimately be turned into green fuel for aircraft.The funding from&nbsp;<a href="https://unsw-my.sharepoint.com/personal/z3525182_ad_unsw_edu_au1/Documents/Documents/trace.org.au" target="_blank">TRaCE</a>, the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy program established by the Australian Department of Education, has been boosted by industry partners to total $4.2 million, with the aim of achieving a critical breakthrough in the reduction of emissions in aviation.The UNSW-led project, involving&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/rahman-daiyan" target="_blank">Dr Rahman Daiyan</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/rose-amal" target="_blank">Scientia Professor Rose Amal</a>, and adjunct Professor Jimmy Yun, will work in association with Australian partner Tjindu Power and Chuangqi Times (Qingdao) Technology Company, a clean tech developer based in China.The team have already developed a carbon dioxide electrolyser system using low-cost transition metal and carbon catalysts, which can be integrated with the well-established Fischer-Tropsch process to produce sustainable aviation fuel.Decarbonising aviation is one of the toughest challenges in the race to net zero. Unlike cars or homes, planes can’t easily switch to be electrified and the fuels they burn release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Globally, aviation accounts for about 2-3% of emissions, but it's a fast-growing sector with limited alternatives.Many emerging clean energy technologies aim to replace fossil fuel production with sustainable aviation fuels and e-fuels but these solutions are still expensive, energy-intensive, and not yet ready for mass deployment."Our goal is to revolutionise how we produce clean fuels for aviation, using renewable energy to transform CO₂ into usable fuels without requiring costly infrastructure changes. This technology could be the key to decarbonising aviation, one of the world's most challenging sectors," said Dr Daiyan, a Scientia Fellow in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/our-schools/minerals-and-energy-resources-engineering" target="_blank">School of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineering</a>, and Lead Chief Investigator at UNSW.Scientia Prof. Amal, from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/our-schools/chemical-engineering" target="_blank">School of Chemical Engineering</a>, added: “This breakthrough proves that with smart catalyst design and integrated system thinking, we can transform waste CO₂ into the very fuels that drive our economy."It’s the kind of scalable innovation we need to tackle hard-to-abate sectors and achieve net zero.”<h2>Global impact</h2>The grant from TRaCE will help to move the technology from TRL 4 (proof-of-concept in the lab) to TRL 6 (validated prototype in a relevant environment).A spin-out company, Gurung Fuel, led by the industry partners, has been created to lead commercialisation, stakeholder engagement, and capital raising.“This partnership is a major step towards scaling the cutting-edge electrolyser technology. We're not just developing a solution, we are creating a game-changer for the aviation industry, with the potential to make a global impact,” said Prof. Yun from Chuangqi Times (Qingdao).The research project is a strategic opportunity for Australia, which is facing a critical challenge in its fuel security.Currently, the nation holds only 48 days' worth of fuel reserves – far below the 90 days required by international standards. The nation’s heavy reliance on imported fuel also makes it vulnerable to global disruptions and recent geopolitical crises have underscored the urgent need for a sustainable and self-sufficient solution.

Airlines / Aviation

STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)

UNSW researchers to scale up development of clean aviation fuel thanks to $1.2m TRaCE award

From Botswana, UNSW researchers have collaborated with international partners to protect the future of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin.

UNSW Sydney researchers, as part of a PLuS Alliance initiative, recently joined 60 international delegates at a workshop in Botswana focused on protecting the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB).

Spanning Angola, Namibia and Botswana, the CORB is a large inland river basin that ends in the Okavango Delta, a&nbsp;<a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/" target="_blank">UNESCO World Heritage site</a>, renowned for its diverse wildlife. It provides water to an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/okavango-delta-african-oasis/#:~:text=The%20Cubango%2DOkavango%20River%20Basin,people%20who%20depend%20on%20it.&amp;text=Now%20is%20the%20time%20to,the%20threats%20become%20a%20reality.%E2%80%9D" target="_blank">one million people</a>&nbsp;and plays a vital role in agriculture, fishing and tourism across the region.

The workshop focused on how the river basin’s biodiversity and ecosystem services are changing with development, and brought together representatives from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.okacom.org/" target="_blank">Okavango River Basin Commission</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://ori.ub.bw/" target="_blank">Okavango Research Institute</a>&nbsp;and other global experts.

The event examined what ecosystem changes mean for access to clean water, food and flood protection, as well as exploring strategies to address them.

UNSW Professor Richard Kingsford worked with colleagues to apply the&nbsp;<a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/49250" target="_blank">Global Ecosystem Typology</a>&nbsp;to the entire CORB. This system-wide inventory of the Basin has created a unified framework for conservation across borders.

“By mapping every habitat, from river channels and floodplains to savannah woodlands and even groundwater microbes, we can develop a standardised jigsaw‑style blueprint for the basin,” he said.

“This level of detail means we can pinpoint the right management actions, whether it’s protecting wildlife corridors, restoring forests and peatlands or securing water quality for downstream communities.”

Prof. Kingsford added that the workshop’s collaborative approach demonstrated UNSW’s expanding input into global environmental solutions.

“Working alongside experts from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Australia, the US, England and South Africa we are working at a new standard for how to safeguard ecosystems at the river basin scale, ensuring the life‑support services people depend on&nbsp;such as clean water, food security and flood protectionare maintained for generations to come.”

UNSW Professor David Keith, who was integral to developing the Global Ecosystem Typology, was also there in Botswana.

“This workshop was an excellent opportunity to share ideas and experiences in ecosystem management between regional specialists and international experts,” he said.

“There is a surprising breadth and depth of data and knowledge on the Cubango-Okavango when it is all brought together in this way. A new ecosystem inventory, including maps, will be foundational for planning and management decisions aimed at reducing risks to the fragile ecosystems of the basin.”

Next steps to secure the basin’s future

Attendees at the workshop mapped out the following next steps over coming months to better protect and manage the basin’s unique ecosystems:

A first-of-its-kind ecosystem mapof terrestrial and aquatic environments across the CORB, identifying gaps in current knowledge by combining available maps with expert input from delegates.A detailed report for each ecosystem, including the key ecological processes, major threats, possible management strategies, and data gaps. These reports will also feature photographs to highlight the unique features of each ecosystem.A scientific publicationto be developed to share the workshop’s findings with the wider research community.

The workshop also produced a set of key recommendations to designed to guide national governments, NGOs and potential investors across the region.

In addition to the central recommendation of the development of a standardised, cross-border map of the basin to support biodiversity and ecosystem management, the workshop called for broader, basin-wide investments in ecosystem health, beyond fragmented efforts focused on specific areas or species. Regular public reporting using satellite and biodiversity data was recommended to track ecosystem indicators.

Improved communication and collaboration across government, private and non-government sectors was also identified as essential for basin-scale solutions and investment.

Finally, the workshop emphasised the importance of strengthening connections between local communities and decision-makers across the basin.

The workshop marked the first time the Global Ecosystem Typology has been applied to an entire river basin, laying the groundwork for a unified approach to conservation across Angola, Botswana and Namibia.

By identifying, defining and describing every ecosystem, the typology creates a shared language for scientists, policy‑makers and local managers.

“Each piece of the Cubango‑Okavango Basin, whether it’s a river channel, a savannah or a swamp, is precisely shaped and located. That level of detail has never been available at this scale before,” Prof. Kingsford explained.

“We can now compare ecosystems in the Okavango with those in the Amazon or the Mekong, and that comparison drives better prevention, restoration and reporting.”

Historically, biodiversity conservation has focused on individual species because they’re easier to count and protect. The Global Ecosystem Typology shifts the emphasis to whole ecological communities, ensuring that plants, animals, fungi and the very physical environments they depend on are all considered together.

Prof. Kingsford said the workshop built on years of collaboration and knowledge-sharing between Australia’s Lake Eyre Basin and the Cubango-Okavango system. As part of this partnership, the Lake Eyre Basin Alliance sponsored a visit by delegates from Angola, Namibia and Botswana to the Lake Eyre Basin.

“This workshop is the culmination of a journey that began with connecting the Lake Eyre Basin Alliance with the Okavango River Basin Commission, sharing lessons in managing free-flowing rivers under pressure,” Prof. Kingsford said.

The international collaboration grew from a shared recognition that both river basins face similar challenges - including upstream development, extractive industries and climate variability. They also sustain rich biodiversity, are vital to Indigenous communities and exist in water-scarce regions of the world.

Through Prof. Kingsford’s leadership, the Lake Eyre and Okavango partnership has matured. Prior to the workshop he was in Botswana leading an undergraduate course in ecosystem management, which brought together students from UNSW, the University of Botswana, King’s College London and Arizona State University.

Dr Mpaphi Casper Bonyongo, Director of the Okavango Research Institute, said the workshop provided a vital opportunity for collaboration between local, regional and international stakeholders to ensure the long-term health of the river basin.

“Tracking trajectories of change for the Cubango Okavango River Basin cannot be done without credible data. Data paucity on important transboundary water resources variables remains a major constraint to informed management decisions,” Dr Bonyongo said.

“This workshop is timely as it provides a platform for stakeholders involved in transboundary river basin management to discuss the significance of data generation and sharing.”

Phera Ramoeli, Secretary of the Okavango River Basin Commission said: “This workshop comes at an opportune time when there are number of looming challenges including climate change which are affecting the status of our water resources and ecological diversity.

“The opportunity for learning and sharing of experience from experts from around the world will be very important.”

The event was principally sponsored by the Lake Eyre Basin Alliance with additional support from Khwai Private Reserve, Natural Selection, Machaba Safaris, the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, the Wild Bird Trust and the French Biodiversity Agency.

From Botswana, UNSW researchers have collaborated with international partners to protect the future of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin.UNSW Sydney researchers, as part of a PLuS Alliance initiative, recently joined 60 international delegates at a workshop in Botswana focused on protecting the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB).Spanning Angola, Namibia and Botswana, the CORB is a large inland river basin that ends in the Okavango Delta, a&nbsp;<a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/" target="_blank">UNESCO World Heritage site</a>, renowned for its diverse wildlife. It provides water to an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/okavango-delta-african-oasis/#:~:text=The%20Cubango%2DOkavango%20River%20Basin,people%20who%20depend%20on%20it.&amp;text=Now%20is%20the%20time%20to,the%20threats%20become%20a%20reality.%E2%80%9D" target="_blank">one million people</a>&nbsp;and plays a vital role in agriculture, fishing and tourism across the region.The workshop focused on how the river basin’s biodiversity and ecosystem services are changing with development, and brought together representatives from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.okacom.org/" target="_blank">Okavango River Basin Commission</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://ori.ub.bw/" target="_blank">Okavango Research Institute</a>&nbsp;and other global experts.The event examined what ecosystem changes mean for access to clean water, food and flood protection, as well as exploring strategies to address them.UNSW Professor Richard Kingsford worked with colleagues to apply the&nbsp;<a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/49250" target="_blank">Global Ecosystem Typology</a>&nbsp;to the entire CORB. This system-wide inventory of the Basin has created a unified framework for conservation across borders.“By mapping every habitat, from river channels and floodplains to savannah woodlands and even groundwater microbes, we can develop a standardised jigsaw‑style blueprint for the basin,” he said.“This level of detail means we can pinpoint the right management actions, whether it’s protecting wildlife corridors, restoring forests and peatlands or securing water quality for downstream communities.”Prof. Kingsford added that the workshop’s collaborative approach demonstrated UNSW’s expanding input into global environmental solutions.“Working alongside experts from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Australia, the US, England and South Africa we are working at a new standard for how to safeguard ecosystems at the river basin scale, ensuring the life‑support services people depend on&nbsp;such as clean water, food security and flood protectionare maintained for generations to come.”UNSW Professor David Keith, who was integral to developing the Global Ecosystem Typology, was also there in Botswana.“This workshop was an excellent opportunity to share ideas and experiences in ecosystem management between regional specialists and international experts,” he said.“There is a surprising breadth and depth of data and knowledge on the Cubango-Okavango when it is all brought together in this way. A new ecosystem inventory, including maps, will be foundational for planning and management decisions aimed at reducing risks to the fragile ecosystems of the basin.”Next steps to secure the basin’s futureAttendees at the workshop mapped out the following next steps over coming months to better protect and manage the basin’s unique ecosystems:A first-of-its-kind ecosystem mapof terrestrial and aquatic environments across the CORB, identifying gaps in current knowledge by combining available maps with expert input from delegates.A detailed report for each ecosystem, including the key ecological processes, major threats, possible management strategies, and data gaps. These reports will also feature photographs to highlight the unique features of each ecosystem.A scientific publicationto be developed to share the workshop’s findings with the wider research community.The workshop also produced a set of key recommendations to designed to guide national governments, NGOs and potential investors across the region.In addition to the central recommendation of the development of a standardised, cross-border map of the basin to support biodiversity and ecosystem management, the workshop called for broader, basin-wide investments in ecosystem health, beyond fragmented efforts focused on specific areas or species. Regular public reporting using satellite and biodiversity data was recommended to track ecosystem indicators.Improved communication and collaboration across government, private and non-government sectors was also identified as essential for basin-scale solutions and investment.Finally, the workshop emphasised the importance of strengthening connections between local communities and decision-makers across the basin.The Global TypologyThe workshop marked the first time the Global Ecosystem Typology has been applied to an entire river basin, laying the groundwork for a unified approach to conservation across Angola, Botswana and Namibia.By identifying, defining and describing every ecosystem, the typology creates a shared language for scientists, policy‑makers and local managers.“Each piece of the Cubango‑Okavango Basin, whether it’s a river channel, a savannah or a swamp, is precisely shaped and located. That level of detail has never been available at this scale before,” Prof. Kingsford explained.“We can now compare ecosystems in the Okavango with those in the Amazon or the Mekong, and that comparison drives better prevention, restoration and reporting.”Historically, biodiversity conservation has focused on individual species because they’re easier to count and protect. The Global Ecosystem Typology shifts the emphasis to whole ecological communities, ensuring that plants, animals, fungi and the very physical environments they depend on are all considered together.Long-standing collaborationProf. Kingsford said the workshop built on years of collaboration and knowledge-sharing between Australia’s Lake Eyre Basin and the Cubango-Okavango system. As part of this partnership, the Lake Eyre Basin Alliance sponsored a visit by delegates from Angola, Namibia and Botswana to the Lake Eyre Basin.“This workshop is the culmination of a journey that began with connecting the Lake Eyre Basin Alliance with the Okavango River Basin Commission, sharing lessons in managing free-flowing rivers under pressure,” Prof. Kingsford said.The international collaboration grew from a shared recognition that both river basins face similar challenges - including upstream development, extractive industries and climate variability. They also sustain rich biodiversity, are vital to Indigenous communities and exist in water-scarce regions of the world.Through Prof. Kingsford’s leadership, the Lake Eyre and Okavango partnership has matured. Prior to the workshop he was in Botswana leading an undergraduate course in ecosystem management, which brought together students from UNSW, the University of Botswana, King’s College London and Arizona State University.Dr Mpaphi Casper Bonyongo, Director of the Okavango Research Institute, said the workshop provided a vital opportunity for collaboration between local, regional and international stakeholders to ensure the long-term health of the river basin.“Tracking trajectories of change for the Cubango Okavango River Basin cannot be done without credible data. Data paucity on important transboundary water resources variables remains a major constraint to informed management decisions,” Dr Bonyongo said.“This workshop is timely as it provides a platform for stakeholders involved in transboundary river basin management to discuss the significance of data generation and sharing.”Phera Ramoeli, Secretary of the Okavango River Basin Commission said: “This workshop comes at an opportune time when there are number of looming challenges including climate change which are affecting the status of our water resources and ecological diversity.“The opportunity for learning and sharing of experience from experts from around the world will be very important.”The event was principally sponsored by the Lake Eyre Basin Alliance with additional support from Khwai Private Reserve, Natural Selection, Machaba Safaris, the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, the Wild Bird Trust and the French Biodiversity Agency.

Environment / SGDs / Recycling

UNSW leads global effort to protect iconic African river basin

A UNSW academic’s innovative research uses ocean currents to optimise shipping routes and reduce the environmental impact of sea transport.

Each day more than 50,000 cargo ships ply the world’s oceans, carrying about 90% of all the goods that are traded worldwide.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Global shipping is an enormous industry – and it’s responsible for 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions: if the shipping industry were a country, it would rank as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/Environment/Pages/Fourth-IMO-Greenhouse-Gas-Study-2020.aspx" target="_blank">sixth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases</a>.&nbsp;

To find more efficient routes for cargo ships, Associate Professor Shane Keating, a researcher in oceanography and applied mathematics at UNSW Sydney, has developed an algorithm using state-of-the-art ocean models and artificial intelligence (AI).&nbsp;

“With better ocean forecasts, ships can use the power of currents as they travel, reducing fuel use and cutting emissions,” says A/Prof. Keating.&nbsp;&nbsp;

His innovation will deliver ocean forecasts to the shipping industry under UNSW Sydney spinout company,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.countercurrent.ai/" target="_blank">CounterCurrent.</a>

The company is built on 15 years of research studying ocean currents with a focus on forecasting, satellite remote sensing and data science.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“The algorithm is like a Google Maps for the sea, giving the most efficient route in real time based on the behaviour of ocean eddies.”&nbsp;

A/Prof. Keating is an expert in a type of ocean current called&nbsp;eddies, swirling circular currents that are the oceanic equivalent of atmospheric storms.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Eddies are found in every ocean basin and make up 90% of the kinetic energy of the ocean, but they aren’t well represented in existing ocean current forecasts.&nbsp;&nbsp;

By better incorporating ocean eddies in forecasts, Keating says that commercial ships can harness these currents to find more efficient routes across the ocean.&nbsp;

Most ships travel the shortest distance between two points on the Earth’s surface. It’s known as a great circle route.

But that route, although it’s the shortest distance, is not the most fuel efficient route because ocean currents are constantly moving the ship off that perfect geometrical line. The ship has to use its engines and therefore burn more fuel to stay on the line.

By going with ocean currents, ships will travel slightly longer distances over the surface of the Earth, but they’ll travel more efficiently because they’re moving with ocean currents rather than against them.

You can do this in real time if you know where those ocean currents are.

One of the reasons this is possible is due to improved satellite technology, which now provides images that allow eddies to be tracked.&nbsp;

A/Prof. Keating began to look at how satellites could be used to measure the ocean from space after completing his doctoral degree in astrophysics at the University of California San Diego.&nbsp;

“In the past few decades, satellite technology has completely revolutionised the way we look at the ocean,” he says.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Before the satellite era, our picture of the ocean was of a giant bathtub of seawater with just a few large ocean currents – like the Gulf Stream and the East Australian Current.&nbsp;

“Thanks to satellites, we now know that the ocean is highly turbulent and chaotic, like our atmosphere, and is filled with thousands of ocean eddies that can range in diameter from ten to 300 kilometres and depths of up to 2000 metres.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Although eddies rotate slowly, with current speeds of up to two metres per second, the fact that seawater is 800 times denser than air means that each of these eddies has more momentum than a tropical cyclone.&nbsp;

Our view of ocean currents got a major upgrade in December 2022 with the launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite.&nbsp;&nbsp;

SWOT is a joint US-French satellite mission capable of mapping ocean currents with ten times the resolution of existing satellite technology.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A/Prof. Keating is a member of the international science team for the SWOT satellite and leads the Australian SWOT working group (AUSWOT), a consortium of researchers and stakeholders working to support the SWOT mission in the Asia-Pacific region.&nbsp;&nbsp;

To make the most of observations from satellites such as SWOT, researchers need to compare them with measurements taken at the surface.

In October 2023, A/Prof. Keating and a team of UNSW oceanographers boarded the state-of-the-art CSIRO research vessel <a href="https://mnf.csiro.au/en/RV-Investigator" target="_blank">RV Investigator</a> to gather essential ocean data under the satellite’s path as it orbits Earth.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Data collected from commercial vessels also plays an important part in helping improve our understanding of ocean currents and how they might be changing in a warming world.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In April 2024, A/Prof. Keating participated in a voyage on board a 140 metre-long cargo vessel travelling from the Port of Newcastle to Auckland, as part of the Ships of Opportunity Program (SOOP), a global partnership between the maritime industry and research scientists that uses commercial vessels to gather ocean observations for marine weather forecasts.&nbsp;

“It was amazing,” says A/Prof. Keating. “You are travelling across the ocean at the speed of a golf cart, so you can really see the impact of ocean currents on the vessel.”&nbsp;

A/Prof. Keating’s voyage onboard the cargo vessel gave him an inside look at a virtually invisible industry.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Shipping is the lifeblood of the global economy, worth a staggering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ics-shipping.org/shipping-fact/shipping-and-world-trade-driving-prosperity/#:~:text=For%20an%20economic%20region%20such,than%2014%20trillion%20US%20Dollars." target="_blank">$20 trillion per year,</a>” A/Prof. Keating says, “but we almost never hear about it unless something goes wrong.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“All of that shipping has a huge carbon footprint – over a billion tonnes of CO2&nbsp;equivalent per year is emitted by the shipping industry.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

The International Maritime Organisation – the UN body that regulates the global shipping industry – has set a target of zero shipping emissions by 2050, with mandatory uptake of zero emission fuels such as green hydrogen and green methanol.&nbsp;&nbsp;

However, it will take time to replace the existing merchant vessel fleet with ships that can use alternative fuels, and, even then, these fuels will be 6–10 times more expensive than traditional bunker fuel.&nbsp;

A/Prof. Keating’s ship routing technology allows vessels to cut costs and emissions by making small adjustments to the ship’s route to take advantage of natural currents.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Having tested his technology on more than a hundred vessels, A/Prof. Keating has been able to demonstrate consistent fuel savings of up to 20%.&nbsp;&nbsp;

He is now engaging with several shipping companies and ship builders to commercialise the technology and make it accessible to the wider industry quickly.&nbsp;

“It’s a win-win for shipping companies,” says A/Prof. Keating. “They can save money and meet their emissions reductions targets right now, without any modification to the vessel or change in the vessel transit time.

"My hope is that, within the next 5 years, this research will change the way that ships cross the ocean so that shipping companies can meet their emissions targets.”&nbsp; &nbsp;

A/Prof Keating’s research is supported by a grant of sea time on RV Investigator from the CSIRO Marine National Facility, the&nbsp;<a href="https://imos.org.au/facility/ships-of-opportunity" target="_blank">Ships of Opportunity Program</a>, the Australian Research Council Linkage scheme, the Australian Economic Accelerator Seed Grant and the TRaCE Enterprise Academic Fellowship.

A UNSW academic’s innovative research uses ocean currents to optimise shipping routes and reduce the environmental impact of sea transport.Each day more than 50,000 cargo ships ply the world’s oceans, carrying about 90% of all the goods that are traded worldwide.&nbsp;&nbsp;Global shipping is an enormous industry – and it’s responsible for 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions: if the shipping industry were a country, it would rank as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/Environment/Pages/Fourth-IMO-Greenhouse-Gas-Study-2020.aspx" target="_blank">sixth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases</a>.&nbsp;To find more efficient routes for cargo ships, Associate Professor Shane Keating, a researcher in oceanography and applied mathematics at UNSW Sydney, has developed an algorithm using state-of-the-art ocean models and artificial intelligence (AI).&nbsp;“With better ocean forecasts, ships can use the power of currents as they travel, reducing fuel use and cutting emissions,” says A/Prof. Keating.&nbsp;&nbsp;His innovation will deliver ocean forecasts to the shipping industry under UNSW Sydney spinout company,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.countercurrent.ai/" target="_blank">CounterCurrent.</a>The company is built on 15 years of research studying ocean currents with a focus on forecasting, satellite remote sensing and data science.&nbsp;&nbsp;“The algorithm is like a Google Maps for the sea, giving the most efficient route in real time based on the behaviour of ocean eddies.”&nbsp;Mapping the ocean&nbsp;A/Prof. Keating is an expert in a type of ocean current called&nbsp;eddies, swirling circular currents that are the oceanic equivalent of atmospheric storms.&nbsp;&nbsp;Eddies are found in every ocean basin and make up 90% of the kinetic energy of the ocean, but they aren’t well represented in existing ocean current forecasts.&nbsp;&nbsp;By better incorporating ocean eddies in forecasts, Keating says that commercial ships can harness these currents to find more efficient routes across the ocean.&nbsp;Most ships travel the shortest distance between two points on the Earth’s surface. It’s known as a great circle route.But that route, although it’s the shortest distance, is not the most fuel efficient route because ocean currents are constantly moving the ship off that perfect geometrical line. The ship has to use its engines and therefore burn more fuel to stay on the line.By going with ocean currents, ships will travel slightly longer distances over the surface of the Earth, but they’ll travel more efficiently because they’re moving with ocean currents rather than against them.You can do this in real time if you know where those ocean currents are.Empowered by satellite imagesOne of the reasons this is possible is due to improved satellite technology, which now provides images that allow eddies to be tracked.&nbsp;A/Prof. Keating began to look at how satellites could be used to measure the ocean from space after completing his doctoral degree in astrophysics at the University of California San Diego.&nbsp;“In the past few decades, satellite technology has completely revolutionised the way we look at the ocean,” he says.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Before the satellite era, our picture of the ocean was of a giant bathtub of seawater with just a few large ocean currents – like the Gulf Stream and the East Australian Current.&nbsp;“Thanks to satellites, we now know that the ocean is highly turbulent and chaotic, like our atmosphere, and is filled with thousands of ocean eddies that can range in diameter from ten to 300 kilometres and depths of up to 2000 metres.”&nbsp;&nbsp;Although eddies rotate slowly, with current speeds of up to two metres per second, the fact that seawater is 800 times denser than air means that each of these eddies has more momentum than a tropical cyclone.&nbsp;Our view of ocean currents got a major upgrade in December 2022 with the launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite.&nbsp;&nbsp;SWOT is a joint US-French satellite mission capable of mapping ocean currents with ten times the resolution of existing satellite technology.&nbsp;&nbsp;A/Prof. Keating is a member of the international science team for the SWOT satellite and leads the Australian SWOT working group (AUSWOT), a consortium of researchers and stakeholders working to support the SWOT mission in the Asia-Pacific region.&nbsp;&nbsp;To make the most of observations from satellites such as SWOT, researchers need to compare them with measurements taken at the surface.In October 2023, A/Prof. Keating and a team of UNSW oceanographers boarded the state-of-the-art CSIRO research vessel <a href="https://mnf.csiro.au/en/RV-Investigator" target="_blank">RV Investigator</a> to gather essential ocean data under the satellite’s path as it orbits Earth.&nbsp; &nbsp;Data collected from commercial vessels also plays an important part in helping improve our understanding of ocean currents and how they might be changing in a warming world.&nbsp;&nbsp;In April 2024, A/Prof. Keating participated in a voyage on board a 140 metre-long cargo vessel travelling from the Port of Newcastle to Auckland, as part of the Ships of Opportunity Program (SOOP), a global partnership between the maritime industry and research scientists that uses commercial vessels to gather ocean observations for marine weather forecasts.&nbsp;“It was amazing,” says A/Prof. Keating. “You are travelling across the ocean at the speed of a golf cart, so you can really see the impact of ocean currents on the vessel.”&nbsp;Putting the puzzle together&nbsp;A/Prof. Keating’s voyage onboard the cargo vessel gave him an inside look at a virtually invisible industry.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Shipping is the lifeblood of the global economy, worth a staggering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ics-shipping.org/shipping-fact/shipping-and-world-trade-driving-prosperity/#:~:text=For%20an%20economic%20region%20such,than%2014%20trillion%20US%20Dollars." target="_blank">$20 trillion per year,</a>” A/Prof. Keating says, “but we almost never hear about it unless something goes wrong.&nbsp;&nbsp;“All of that shipping has a huge carbon footprint – over a billion tonnes of CO2&nbsp;equivalent per year is emitted by the shipping industry.”&nbsp;&nbsp;The International Maritime Organisation – the UN body that regulates the global shipping industry – has set a target of zero shipping emissions by 2050, with mandatory uptake of zero emission fuels such as green hydrogen and green methanol.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, it will take time to replace the existing merchant vessel fleet with ships that can use alternative fuels, and, even then, these fuels will be 6–10 times more expensive than traditional bunker fuel.&nbsp;A/Prof. Keating’s ship routing technology allows vessels to cut costs and emissions by making small adjustments to the ship’s route to take advantage of natural currents.&nbsp;&nbsp;Having tested his technology on more than a hundred vessels, A/Prof. Keating has been able to demonstrate consistent fuel savings of up to 20%.&nbsp;&nbsp;He is now engaging with several shipping companies and ship builders to commercialise the technology and make it accessible to the wider industry quickly.&nbsp;“It’s a win-win for shipping companies,” says A/Prof. Keating. “They can save money and meet their emissions reductions targets right now, without any modification to the vessel or change in the vessel transit time."My hope is that, within the next 5 years, this research will change the way that ships cross the ocean so that shipping companies can meet their emissions targets.”&nbsp; &nbsp;A/Prof Keating’s research is supported by a grant of sea time on RV Investigator from the CSIRO Marine National Facility, the&nbsp;<a href="https://imos.org.au/facility/ships-of-opportunity" target="_blank">Ships of Opportunity Program</a>, the Australian Research Council Linkage scheme, the Australian Economic Accelerator Seed Grant and the TRaCE Enterprise Academic Fellowship.

Catch a current

The space economy presents new investment opportunities as commercial space resource ventures grow, but investors must assess risks and regulatory challenges.

Most investors build their portfolios through traditional assets such as shares, property and bonds. However, a new investment horizon has emerged that extends beyond Earth's atmosphere. The space economy represents a potential opportunity for forward-thinking investors willing to explore unconventional markets, but questions remain about how best to participate in this sector.

The space industry continues its rapid expansion, with estimates suggesting it could grow from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/space-the-missing-element-of-your-strategy" target="_blank">approximately $US500 billion in 2022</a>&nbsp;to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.space.commerce.gov/remarks-on-the-trillion-dollar-space-economy/" target="_blank">multi-trillion dollar industry by 2040</a>. While current growth focuses on communications, Earth observation and navigation, experts forecast significant expansion into cislunar (between the Earth and the moon) space.

“The long-term outlook for commercial space resources is promising, with space resource activity being essential for the commercial development of cislunar space, due to the ‘tyranny of the rocket equation’, where there is an exponential increase in cost as a function of distance from the Earth,” said UNSW Engineering PhD student Ben McKeown, who has led a number of co-authored research papers on the topic.

An increasing number of private sector companies targeting space resources, including Astroforge (a US-based aerospace firm that plans to mine asteroids to extract valuable minerals), Interlune (which has developed novel machinery and processes to detect and extract natural resources from space) and ispace (a Japanese firm that develops robotic spacecraft and technologies to discover, map and use natural lunar resources).

However, Mr McKeown said, the reality was that sustainable commercial space resource activity was still some way off.

“Important considerations for investors in space resource activities include current regulatory uncertainty, the lack of defined markets and the lack of geological resource definition. Over and above these factors, potential investors should consider the credibility and feasibility of a company’s technological capabilities and mission plans,” he said.

Mr McKeown, who is a research student at UNSW’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/research/acser" target="_blank">Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research</a>&nbsp;and also serves as Chairman at Tinka Resources, a Canadian-based exploration and development company, highlighted the importance of evaluating tangible milestones, validating partnerships with entities such as NASA, and successful navigation of regulatory frameworks in helping investors identify opportunities with a higher likelihood of success and mitigate speculative risks.

Potential returns from investing in space resources

Mr McKeown’s most recent research paper,&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2024.101663" target="_blank">The space resources fund: A solution to the space resources benefit sharing dilemma?</a>, examines various types of funding for commercialising space resources.

Co-authored by UNSW Business School&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/jeff-coulton" target="_blank">Associate Professor Jeff Coulton</a>&nbsp;and UNSW Engineering academics&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/andrew-dempster" target="_blank">Professor Andrew Dempster</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/serkan-saydam" target="_blank">Professor Serkan Saydam</a>, the paper analysed sovereign wealth funds, development funds, and private equity ventures to determine which characteristics might best serve the dual aims of industry development and benefit sharing.

Published in&nbsp;Space Policy, the research paper explained how a proposed Space Resources Fund would operate with a double bottom line mandate: generating monetary benefits from fund activities for global benefit sharing, while providing investment capital to facilitate the development of industry that supports the fund.

Financial modelling conducted by the researchers showed that if the fund achieved a 10% annual return over 50 years, it could grow to $186 billion from an initial $2 billion investment. At a 12% return, this figure increases to $439 billion over the same period.

This contrasted favourably with the potential income from royalties, which the authors found would generate significantly less value. Even with an 8% royalty rate on a hypothetical lunar ice mining industry growing at 6% annually over 50 years, the total value generated would be a fraction of the investment value created by the space resources fund approach.

A/Prof. Coulton said it was probable that progress in commercial space mining activities would take much longer than in many traditional resource sectors.

“Space mining ventures will operate on decade-long horizons before they would be likely to see significant returns, so investors should research whether a company has a robust plan as well as the organisational capabilities to last,” he said.

“The markets for in-space resource trade aren’t currently developed (we need both the demand for and supply of materials in space), and the technical feasibility tests are in their very early days.”

As such, A/Prof. Coulton said, investors should try to understand the technology, partnerships, and regulatory preparations.

“They’ll also need to investigate how businesses plan to deal with legal uncertainties: regulations around resource ownership and the right to mine celestial bodies are still evolving, so it will be crucial to invest in projects with a clear approach to navigating any shifts in that landscape,” he said.

Another key consideration in any early-stage investing would be the leadership and extent of proven expertise of the team. A/Prof. Coulton said a promising space resource startup should ideally have access to sufficient funding, strong engineering teams, and a track record of successfully managing large-scale, capital-intensive projects.

“The emerging investment opportunities will be very exciting, but investors will need patience and a willingness to embrace the uncertain nature of the projects and their outcomes,” he said.

While certain risks, such as subsurface or geological risk in the context of space resources may be comparable to those on Earth, Mr McKeown said, investing in space resources would carry unique risks when compared to terrestrial resource investments.

“Technology risks are substantial, given the complexity of operating safely and effectively in space. Regulatory uncertainty also poses challenges, as international space law and property rights on celestial bodies remain in early development,” he said.

Additionally, market risks such as unpredictable demand and pricing structure were significant at this point. Factoring all these risks into account, Mr McKeown asserted that investors should be prepared for the volatility and longer-term horizons associated with these innovative ventures.

A/Prof. Coulton echoed Mr McKeown’s observations and said investing in space resources would be considered riskier than that of many established Earth-based ventures. “This is due largely to the experimental nature of extraction and processing methods and the harsh conditions of outer space,” he said.

With Earth-based mining, A/Prof. Coulton said, there was long-standing proven technology as well as existing legal frameworks that helped mitigate some of the uncertainty. In space, even well-funded and organised missions would face surprises – from launch failures to hardware malfunctions to shifting international regulations – that might rapidly reshape the ownership of off-Earth resources.

Extended operational timelines can also mean waiting years or even decades to realise a commercial return, he added.

For those considering investment opportunities in the space resources sector, the research suggests a measured approach. Early stages of industry development will likely require significant capital with high-risk profiles, but offer potential for substantial returns.

The fund structure proposed by the UNSW research team could provide a middle path that satisfies both commercial interests and international obligations regarding benefit sharing. Rather than imposing potentially burdensome royalties on nascent space resources fund projects, the fund approach could generate greater long-term value while supporting industry development.

“I think that the long-term outlook for space resource investments is generally very positive, provided you recognise it IS a long-term consideration,” said A/Prof. Coulton. “As reusable rocket technology advances and launch costs fall (which we are currently seeing especially with SpaceX), we’re steadily approaching a point where space-based projects become more economically viable.”

This shift could prompt even more investment and innovation, with early successes boosting both investor confidence and therefore the capital available for further ventures. Government support was also likely to grow, said A/Prof. Coulton, who predicted nations would become more focused on securing strategic resources and maintaining a presence beyond Earth.

Mr McKeown also said the long-term investment outlook for space resources was promising, particularly as humanity expanded its footprint beyond Earth and an economy in cislunar space evolved.

“The space economy is projected to significantly expand in the coming decades, which could drive demand for water and construction materials in space, in addition to helium-3, demand for which could develop on Earth in markets such as quantum computing and fusion energy,” he said.

“Investors who enter this sector early, with a well-informed and patient strategy, may ultimately position themselves to benefit from what could become one of the defining industries of the next century.”

The space economy presents new investment opportunities as commercial space resource ventures grow, but investors must assess risks and regulatory challenges.Most investors build their portfolios through traditional assets such as shares, property and bonds. However, a new investment horizon has emerged that extends beyond Earth's atmosphere. The space economy represents a potential opportunity for forward-thinking investors willing to explore unconventional markets, but questions remain about how best to participate in this sector.The space industry continues its rapid expansion, with estimates suggesting it could grow from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/space-the-missing-element-of-your-strategy" target="_blank">approximately $US500 billion in 2022</a>&nbsp;to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.space.commerce.gov/remarks-on-the-trillion-dollar-space-economy/" target="_blank">multi-trillion dollar industry by 2040</a>. While current growth focuses on communications, Earth observation and navigation, experts forecast significant expansion into cislunar (between the Earth and the moon) space.“The long-term outlook for commercial space resources is promising, with space resource activity being essential for the commercial development of cislunar space, due to the ‘tyranny of the rocket equation’, where there is an exponential increase in cost as a function of distance from the Earth,” said UNSW Engineering PhD student Ben McKeown, who has led a number of co-authored research papers on the topic.An increasing number of private sector companies targeting space resources, including Astroforge (a US-based aerospace firm that plans to mine asteroids to extract valuable minerals), Interlune (which has developed novel machinery and processes to detect and extract natural resources from space) and ispace (a Japanese firm that develops robotic spacecraft and technologies to discover, map and use natural lunar resources).However, Mr McKeown said, the reality was that sustainable commercial space resource activity was still some way off.“Important considerations for investors in space resource activities include current regulatory uncertainty, the lack of defined markets and the lack of geological resource definition. Over and above these factors, potential investors should consider the credibility and feasibility of a company’s technological capabilities and mission plans,” he said.Mr McKeown, who is a research student at UNSW’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/research/acser" target="_blank">Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research</a>&nbsp;and also serves as Chairman at Tinka Resources, a Canadian-based exploration and development company, highlighted the importance of evaluating tangible milestones, validating partnerships with entities such as NASA, and successful navigation of regulatory frameworks in helping investors identify opportunities with a higher likelihood of success and mitigate speculative risks.<h2>Potential returns from investing in space resources</h2>Mr McKeown’s most recent research paper,&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2024.101663" target="_blank">The space resources fund: A solution to the space resources benefit sharing dilemma?</a>, examines various types of funding for commercialising space resources.Co-authored by UNSW Business School&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/jeff-coulton" target="_blank">Associate Professor Jeff Coulton</a>&nbsp;and UNSW Engineering academics&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/andrew-dempster" target="_blank">Professor Andrew Dempster</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/serkan-saydam" target="_blank">Professor Serkan Saydam</a>, the paper analysed sovereign wealth funds, development funds, and private equity ventures to determine which characteristics might best serve the dual aims of industry development and benefit sharing.Published in&nbsp;Space Policy, the research paper explained how a proposed Space Resources Fund would operate with a double bottom line mandate: generating monetary benefits from fund activities for global benefit sharing, while providing investment capital to facilitate the development of industry that supports the fund.Financial modelling conducted by the researchers showed that if the fund achieved a 10% annual return over 50 years, it could grow to $186 billion from an initial $2 billion investment. At a 12% return, this figure increases to $439 billion over the same period.This contrasted favourably with the potential income from royalties, which the authors found would generate significantly less value. Even with an 8% royalty rate on a hypothetical lunar ice mining industry growing at 6% annually over 50 years, the total value generated would be a fraction of the investment value created by the space resources fund approach.<h2>Investment timeframes and considerations</h2>A/Prof. Coulton said it was probable that progress in commercial space mining activities would take much longer than in many traditional resource sectors.“Space mining ventures will operate on decade-long horizons before they would be likely to see significant returns, so investors should research whether a company has a robust plan as well as the organisational capabilities to last,” he said.“The markets for in-space resource trade aren’t currently developed (we need both the demand for and supply of materials in space), and the technical feasibility tests are in their very early days.”As such, A/Prof. Coulton said, investors should try to understand the technology, partnerships, and regulatory preparations.“They’ll also need to investigate how businesses plan to deal with legal uncertainties: regulations around resource ownership and the right to mine celestial bodies are still evolving, so it will be crucial to invest in projects with a clear approach to navigating any shifts in that landscape,” he said.Another key consideration in any early-stage investing would be the leadership and extent of proven expertise of the team. A/Prof. Coulton said a promising space resource startup should ideally have access to sufficient funding, strong engineering teams, and a track record of successfully managing large-scale, capital-intensive projects.“The emerging investment opportunities will be very exciting, but investors will need patience and a willingness to embrace the uncertain nature of the projects and their outcomes,” he said.<h2>The risks of space resources investing</h2>While certain risks, such as subsurface or geological risk in the context of space resources may be comparable to those on Earth, Mr McKeown said, investing in space resources would carry unique risks when compared to terrestrial resource investments.“Technology risks are substantial, given the complexity of operating safely and effectively in space. Regulatory uncertainty also poses challenges, as international space law and property rights on celestial bodies remain in early development,” he said.Additionally, market risks such as unpredictable demand and pricing structure were significant at this point. Factoring all these risks into account, Mr McKeown asserted that investors should be prepared for the volatility and longer-term horizons associated with these innovative ventures.A/Prof. Coulton echoed Mr McKeown’s observations and said investing in space resources would be considered riskier than that of many established Earth-based ventures. “This is due largely to the experimental nature of extraction and processing methods and the harsh conditions of outer space,” he said.With Earth-based mining, A/Prof. Coulton said, there was long-standing proven technology as well as existing legal frameworks that helped mitigate some of the uncertainty. In space, even well-funded and organised missions would face surprises – from launch failures to hardware malfunctions to shifting international regulations – that might rapidly reshape the ownership of off-Earth resources.Extended operational timelines can also mean waiting years or even decades to realise a commercial return, he added.<h2>A long-term investment outlook</h2>For those considering investment opportunities in the space resources sector, the research suggests a measured approach. Early stages of industry development will likely require significant capital with high-risk profiles, but offer potential for substantial returns.The fund structure proposed by the UNSW research team could provide a middle path that satisfies both commercial interests and international obligations regarding benefit sharing. Rather than imposing potentially burdensome royalties on nascent space resources fund projects, the fund approach could generate greater long-term value while supporting industry development.“I think that the long-term outlook for space resource investments is generally very positive, provided you recognise it IS a long-term consideration,” said A/Prof. Coulton. “As reusable rocket technology advances and launch costs fall (which we are currently seeing especially with SpaceX), we’re steadily approaching a point where space-based projects become more economically viable.”This shift could prompt even more investment and innovation, with early successes boosting both investor confidence and therefore the capital available for further ventures. Government support was also likely to grow, said A/Prof. Coulton, who predicted nations would become more focused on securing strategic resources and maintaining a presence beyond Earth.Mr McKeown also said the long-term investment outlook for space resources was promising, particularly as humanity expanded its footprint beyond Earth and an economy in cislunar space evolved.“The space economy is projected to significantly expand in the coming decades, which could drive demand for water and construction materials in space, in addition to helium-3, demand for which could develop on Earth in markets such as quantum computing and fusion energy,” he said.“Investors who enter this sector early, with a well-informed and patient strategy, may ultimately position themselves to benefit from what could become one of the defining industries of the next century.”

Securities / FX / Investment Trusts

Show Business

Is now a good time to invest in space resources?

UNSW leads the way for Australian universities, transitioning to renewable electric energy across all Sydney residential colleges. The replacement of outdated gas systems is a key milestone as the University strides toward its net zero emissions goal.

UNSW Sydney has ditched gas and adopted clean, renewable electric power&nbsp;for all student accommodation sites, kitchens,&nbsp;childcare, sports and hospitality facilities at the Kensington and Paddington campuses.

The current upgrade prevents around 700 tonnes of CO2 emissions per yearUniversity-wide electrification due by 2030UNSW is on track toachieve net zero by 2050.&nbsp;

Better facilities, healthier environments

At UNSW’s Goldstein Hall in Kensington - it’s&nbsp;cooking with gas, no more! The&nbsp;kitchen serves more than 1,300 meals daily. Senior Manager of Energy and Utilities at UNSW, Jose Bilbao, said the now fully electrified commercial kitchen had revolutionised operations.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It has been absolutely rewarding seeing the kitchen before and after,” he said. “The fryers don't produce fumes when we're using them, so it's a lot healthier here, much better air quality, it’s cooler and we're using less energy.”

Head Chef at Goldstein Hall, Eve Wannasorn, said the change from a gas-powered to electric kitchen had been positive for both staff and students. “Making a stew for around 300 people used to take about three hours. Now it’s around 45 minutes,” she said. “The food tastes nice. It's fresher. And chefs don’t need to waste time changing oil manually. It means the quality of the food is much better.”

UNSW is leading the charge to electrification for Australian universities. This first phase of UNSW’s electrification program&nbsp;has&nbsp;reduced UNSW’s emissions from natural gas by an estimated 10%.&nbsp;Across all UNSW Sydney colleges, gas-powered systems have been replaced with:

34 heat pump-operated dryers and 34 washers31 induction cooktops and 10 electric barbecuesNew high-efficiency electric commercial kitchen appliances such as fryers, pressurised Bratt pans, and dishwashing systems8 domestic hot water heat pumps, with a total heating capacity of 400 kW, and 18 hot water tanks (total of more than 12,000 litres of hot water), replacing more than 20 instant hot water gas units.

All electrical amenities are powered by renewable solar energy, thanks to the University’s on-site solar system and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inside.unsw.edu.au/innovation-and-engagement/unsw-flicks-the-switch-on-100-renewable-electricity" target="_blank">Sunraysia Solar Farm</a>&nbsp;through a solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).&nbsp;UNSW is expected to save 1.25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the 15-year term of agreement.

Chief Property Officer at UNSW, Timothy Beattie, said the transition had set an example for the broader Australian industry. “Electrification is not only possible, and critical to achieve the Paris agreement, but also desired as it provides so many direct and indirect benefits, like better air quality, operational efficiencies, and reduction of fugitive emissions,” he said.

“This is an important investment for the University and the community. Once the program is completed, we'll save around 155,000 GJ of gas per year. That’s like removing more than 5,300 cars from the road.”

UNSW is one of the world’s leading universities for environmental and social sustainability, ranked 12th&nbsp;globally.

UNSW leads the way for Australian universities, transitioning to renewable electric energy across all Sydney residential colleges. The replacement of outdated gas systems is a key milestone as the University strides toward its net zero emissions goal.UNSW Sydney has ditched gas and adopted clean, renewable electric power&nbsp;for all student accommodation sites, kitchens,&nbsp;childcare, sports and hospitality facilities at the Kensington and Paddington campuses.The current upgrade prevents around 700 tonnes of CO2 emissions per yearUniversity-wide electrification due by 2030UNSW is on track toachieve net zero by 2050.&nbsp;Better facilities, healthier environmentsAt UNSW’s Goldstein Hall in Kensington - it’s&nbsp;cooking with gas, no more! The&nbsp;kitchen serves more than 1,300 meals daily. Senior Manager of Energy and Utilities at UNSW, Jose Bilbao, said the now fully electrified commercial kitchen had revolutionised operations.&nbsp;&nbsp;“It has been absolutely rewarding seeing the kitchen before and after,” he said. “The fryers don't produce fumes when we're using them, so it's a lot healthier here, much better air quality, it’s cooler and we're using less energy.”Head Chef at Goldstein Hall, Eve Wannasorn, said the change from a gas-powered to electric kitchen had been positive for both staff and students. “Making a stew for around 300 people used to take about three hours. Now it’s around 45 minutes,” she said. “The food tastes nice. It's fresher. And chefs don’t need to waste time changing oil manually. It means the quality of the food is much better.”Looking ahead to net zeroUNSW is leading the charge to electrification for Australian universities. This first phase of UNSW’s electrification program&nbsp;has&nbsp;reduced UNSW’s emissions from natural gas by an estimated 10%.&nbsp;Across all UNSW Sydney colleges, gas-powered systems have been replaced with:34 heat pump-operated dryers and 34 washers31 induction cooktops and 10 electric barbecuesNew high-efficiency electric commercial kitchen appliances such as fryers, pressurised Bratt pans, and dishwashing systems8 domestic hot water heat pumps, with a total heating capacity of 400 kW, and 18 hot water tanks (total of more than 12,000 litres of hot water), replacing more than 20 instant hot water gas units.All electrical amenities are powered by renewable solar energy, thanks to the University’s on-site solar system and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inside.unsw.edu.au/innovation-and-engagement/unsw-flicks-the-switch-on-100-renewable-electricity" target="_blank">Sunraysia Solar Farm</a>&nbsp;through a solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).&nbsp;UNSW is expected to save 1.25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the 15-year term of agreement.Chief Property Officer at UNSW, Timothy Beattie, said the transition had set an example for the broader Australian industry. “Electrification is not only possible, and critical to achieve the Paris agreement, but also desired as it provides so many direct and indirect benefits, like better air quality, operational efficiencies, and reduction of fugitive emissions,” he said.“This is an important investment for the University and the community. Once the program is completed, we'll save around 155,000 GJ of gas per year. That’s like removing more than 5,300 cars from the road.”UNSW is one of the world’s leading universities for environmental and social sustainability, ranked 12th&nbsp;globally.

Electricity / Gas / Resources / Energy

UNSW Sydney achieves electrification milestone

Climate scientists are overall less trusted than other types of scientists, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add1f9" target="_blank">new study</a>&nbsp;led by the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk &amp; Response (ICRR).

Dr Omid Ghasemi and colleagues compared responses from a survey of nearly 70,000 people across 68 countries on the trustworthiness of climate scientists with a broad range of other ideological and demographic factors.&nbsp;

“We don’t exist in a vacuum, and this research allows a new lens to view different factors that may influence how people view climate scientists – and the forces undermining public confidence in their work,” Dr Ghasemi says.

The results, rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (not at all), to 5 (very strongly), revealed an overall average trust rating of 3.5 for climate scientists worldwide compared to 3.62 for scientists in general.&nbsp;

However, six countries, and China in particular, bucked the trend entirely, indicating significantly higher trust in climate scientists.

Political polarisation putting ice caps at risk&nbsp;

The research showed people with right-leaning political views tended to trust climate scientists less overall, including in the US, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and much of Europe.&nbsp;

“It’s arguably not a surprise that you see significant increases in the trust gap between climate scientists and other scientists in these countries,” Dr Ghasemi says.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“They have had decades of coordinated efforts by conservative political actors and fossil fuel interests to politicise climate science and undermine its credibility.”&nbsp;

Interesting too, says Dr Ghasemi, are those countries which showed the opposite relationship, or no significant association between ideology and trust in climate scientists.&nbsp;

“In some Eastern European, Southeast Asian, and African countries, right-leaning individuals tended to trust scientists and climate scientists more,” Dr Ghasemi says. &nbsp;

“This might suggest that political leadership attitudes, rather than peoples’ political views, better explain these differences in trust.”

Demographic differences behind doubts&nbsp;

The survey data, collected as part of the collaborative Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism (TISP) project, covered a total 111 variables.&nbsp;

Dr Ghasemi’s analysis of the data collected reveals some non-political factors may also be linked to higher trust in climate scientists, such as living in cities, having stronger religious beliefs, valuing science or the scientific method, or being a younger rather than older adult.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, people who support social hierarchies and those who believe common sense is better than scientific expertise are less likely to trust climate scientists.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/8JEf1/?v=6" target="_blank">The difference in trust between climate scientists and scientists in general</a>

<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/DQn2H/?v=7" target="_blank">Average trust in climate scientists versus scientists in general</a>

<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/guuJY/?v=8" target="_blank">The relationship between political orientation and trust in climate scientists</a>

Climate scientists are overall less trusted than other types of scientists, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add1f9" target="_blank">new study</a>&nbsp;led by the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk &amp; Response (ICRR).Dr Omid Ghasemi and colleagues compared responses from a survey of nearly 70,000 people across 68 countries on the trustworthiness of climate scientists with a broad range of other ideological and demographic factors.&nbsp;“We don’t exist in a vacuum, and this research allows a new lens to view different factors that may influence how people view climate scientists – and the forces undermining public confidence in their work,” Dr Ghasemi says.The results, rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (not at all), to 5 (very strongly), revealed an overall average trust rating of 3.5 for climate scientists worldwide compared to 3.62 for scientists in general.&nbsp;However, six countries, and China in particular, bucked the trend entirely, indicating significantly higher trust in climate scientists.Political polarisation putting ice caps at risk&nbsp;The research showed people with right-leaning political views tended to trust climate scientists less overall, including in the US, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and much of Europe.&nbsp;“It’s arguably not a surprise that you see significant increases in the trust gap between climate scientists and other scientists in these countries,” Dr Ghasemi says.&nbsp;&nbsp;“They have had decades of coordinated efforts by conservative political actors and fossil fuel interests to politicise climate science and undermine its credibility.”&nbsp;Interesting too, says Dr Ghasemi, are those countries which showed the opposite relationship, or no significant association between ideology and trust in climate scientists.&nbsp;“In some Eastern European, Southeast Asian, and African countries, right-leaning individuals tended to trust scientists and climate scientists more,” Dr Ghasemi says. &nbsp;“This might suggest that political leadership attitudes, rather than peoples’ political views, better explain these differences in trust.”Demographic differences behind doubts&nbsp;The survey data, collected as part of the collaborative Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism (TISP) project, covered a total 111 variables.&nbsp;Dr Ghasemi’s analysis of the data collected reveals some non-political factors may also be linked to higher trust in climate scientists, such as living in cities, having stronger religious beliefs, valuing science or the scientific method, or being a younger rather than older adult.&nbsp;Meanwhile, people who support social hierarchies and those who believe common sense is better than scientific expertise are less likely to trust climate scientists.&nbsp;Interactive maps are available:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/8JEf1/?v=6" target="_blank">The difference in trust between climate scientists and scientists in general</a><a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/DQn2H/?v=7" target="_blank">Average trust in climate scientists versus scientists in general</a><a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/guuJY/?v=8" target="_blank">The relationship between political orientation and trust in climate scientists</a>

Most people trust climate scientists less than other scientists – but not everywhere

Scientists have now discovered the oldest ancestor for all the Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South America.

Newly discovered evidence of Australia’s earliest species of tree frog challenges what we know about when Australian and South American frogs parted ways on the evolutionary tree.

Previously, scientists believed Australian and South American tree frogs separated from each other about 33 million years ago.

But in a study published today in&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2025.2477815" target="_blank">Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology</a>, palaeontologists from UNSW Sydney say the new species,&nbsp;Litoria tylerantiqua, is now at about 55 million years old, the earliest known member of the pelodryadid family of Australian tree frogs.

The study is based on fossils unearthed from Murgon on the traditional lands of the Waka Waka people of south-eastern Queensland. The new species,&nbsp;Litoria tylerantiqua, is named in honour of the late Michael Tyler, a renowned Australian herpetologist globally celebrated for his research on frogs and toads.

“It is only fitting to name Australia’s earliest tree frog in honour of a man who was a giant in Australian frog research and in particular the first to explore the fossil record for Australian frogs,” says study lead author Dr Roy Farman, an adjunct associate lecturer with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/science/our-schools/bees" target="_blank">UNSW School of Biological, Earth &amp; and Environmental Sciences</a>.

Evolutionary history of Australian tree frogs

Around 55 million years ago, Australia, Antarctica and South America were linked together as the last remnants of the southern supercontinent Gondwana. Global climates were warmer during this period, while a forested corridor linked South America and Australia.

Up until now, it was thought the earliest Australian tree frogs came from the Late Oligocene (about 26 million years ago) and the Early Miocene (23 million years ago). Fossils of the Late Oligocene were found at Kangaroo Well in the Northern Territory and Etadunna Formation at Lake Palankarinna, South Australia, while the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2019/07/plenty-of-life-in-them-yet--25-years-since-world-heritage-listin" target="_blank">Riversleigh World Heritage Area</a>&nbsp;in Queensland revealed tree frogs from the Early Miocene.

But the new species extends the fossil record of pelodryadids by approximately 30 million years, to a time potentially close to the divergence of Australian tree frogs from the South American tree frogs.

Previous estimates based on molecular clock studies – a method scientists use to figure out when different species split from a common ancestor by looking at the rate of genetic changes over time – suggested that Australian and South American tree frogs separated from each other at about 33 million years ago.

“Our research indicates that that date is at least 22 million years too young,” Dr Farman says.

“While molecular studies are important for understanding the evolutionary relationships of different groups of animals, these studies should be calibrated using knowledge from the fossil record and in this case the fossil record provides a more accurate time for separation of the southern world’s tree frogs.”

Using new technology to study ancient frogs

To conduct this research, the authors used CT scans of spirit-preserved frogs from Australian museum collections to compare the three-dimensional shape of the fossil bones with those of living species. The technique – called three-dimensional geometric morphometrics – has only been used on fossil frogs once before. Using these new methods, they were able to unravel the relationships of these fossils to all other groups of frogs living and extinct.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We had a real problem at the start of this study because the pelvic bones of most living frogs were invisible inside whole pickled frogs rather than available for study as skeletons,” Dr Farman says.

“Museums understandably want to ensure these often unique or rare pickled specimens remain intact for molecular studies because DNA can be obtained from their soft tissues. This meant that instead of skeletonising these specimens, we needed instead to make CT scans of them, enabling us to create 3D models of their otherwise invisible skeletons.

“Using these cutting-edge investigative methods, we were able to determine from the shape of the fossil ilia – one of three bones that make up each side of the pelvis – that this new Murgon species of frog is more closely related to the Australian tree frogs (pelodryadids) than the South American tree frogs (phyllomedusids).”

Seasoned survivors that outlasted the dinosaurs

Litoria tylerantiqua&nbsp;joins the only other Murgon frog, the ground-dwelling&nbsp;Platyplectrum casca&nbsp;(previously described as&nbsp;Lechriodus casca), as the oldest frogs known from Australia. Both have living relatives in Australia and New Guinea demonstrating remarkable resilience over time.

“Despite their delicate nature, frogs have been surprisingly successful at surviving several mass extinction events since their origins about 250 million years ago, including the mass extinction 66 million years ago that took out the non-flying dinosaurs,” Dr Farman says.

“Although global extinction events triggered by human activities – such as rapid climate change and the spread of chytrid fungus – may be among the worst challenges frogs have had to face, the fossil record could reveal how some frog groups overcame previous challenges, perhaps by adapting to new, less-threatening habitats. This could provide clues about how we might be able to help by translocating some threatened frogs into more future-secure habitats.”

Frogs such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/02/how-palaeoconservation-can-rescue-animals-at-the-edge-of-existen" target="_blank">the southern corroboree frog</a>&nbsp;are threatened in their current habitats which have become more hostile due to climate change. The authors say that if the fossil record shows physically similar frogs living in very different habitats, today’s frogs may benefit by being reintroduced into similar environments.

Scientists have now discovered the oldest ancestor for all the Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South America.Newly discovered evidence of Australia’s earliest species of tree frog challenges what we know about when Australian and South American frogs parted ways on the evolutionary tree.Previously, scientists believed Australian and South American tree frogs separated from each other about 33 million years ago.But in a study published today in&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2025.2477815" target="_blank">Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology</a>, palaeontologists from UNSW Sydney say the new species,&nbsp;Litoria tylerantiqua, is now at about 55 million years old, the earliest known member of the pelodryadid family of Australian tree frogs.The study is based on fossils unearthed from Murgon on the traditional lands of the Waka Waka people of south-eastern Queensland. The new species,&nbsp;Litoria tylerantiqua, is named in honour of the late Michael Tyler, a renowned Australian herpetologist globally celebrated for his research on frogs and toads.“It is only fitting to name Australia’s earliest tree frog in honour of a man who was a giant in Australian frog research and in particular the first to explore the fossil record for Australian frogs,” says study lead author Dr Roy Farman, an adjunct associate lecturer with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/science/our-schools/bees" target="_blank">UNSW School of Biological, Earth &amp; and Environmental Sciences</a>.Evolutionary history of Australian tree frogsAround 55 million years ago, Australia, Antarctica and South America were linked together as the last remnants of the southern supercontinent Gondwana. Global climates were warmer during this period, while a forested corridor linked South America and Australia.Up until now, it was thought the earliest Australian tree frogs came from the Late Oligocene (about 26 million years ago) and the Early Miocene (23 million years ago). Fossils of the Late Oligocene were found at Kangaroo Well in the Northern Territory and Etadunna Formation at Lake Palankarinna, South Australia, while the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2019/07/plenty-of-life-in-them-yet--25-years-since-world-heritage-listin" target="_blank">Riversleigh World Heritage Area</a>&nbsp;in Queensland revealed tree frogs from the Early Miocene.But the new species extends the fossil record of pelodryadids by approximately 30 million years, to a time potentially close to the divergence of Australian tree frogs from the South American tree frogs.Previous estimates based on molecular clock studies – a method scientists use to figure out when different species split from a common ancestor by looking at the rate of genetic changes over time – suggested that Australian and South American tree frogs separated from each other at about 33 million years ago.“Our research indicates that that date is at least 22 million years too young,” Dr Farman says.“While molecular studies are important for understanding the evolutionary relationships of different groups of animals, these studies should be calibrated using knowledge from the fossil record and in this case the fossil record provides a more accurate time for separation of the southern world’s tree frogs.”Using new technology to study ancient frogsTo conduct this research, the authors used CT scans of spirit-preserved frogs from Australian museum collections to compare the three-dimensional shape of the fossil bones with those of living species. The technique – called three-dimensional geometric morphometrics – has only been used on fossil frogs once before. Using these new methods, they were able to unravel the relationships of these fossils to all other groups of frogs living and extinct.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“We had a real problem at the start of this study because the pelvic bones of most living frogs were invisible inside whole pickled frogs rather than available for study as skeletons,” Dr Farman says.“Museums understandably want to ensure these often unique or rare pickled specimens remain intact for molecular studies because DNA can be obtained from their soft tissues. This meant that instead of skeletonising these specimens, we needed instead to make CT scans of them, enabling us to create 3D models of their otherwise invisible skeletons.“Using these cutting-edge investigative methods, we were able to determine from the shape of the fossil ilia – one of three bones that make up each side of the pelvis – that this new Murgon species of frog is more closely related to the Australian tree frogs (pelodryadids) than the South American tree frogs (phyllomedusids).”Seasoned survivors that outlasted the dinosaursLitoria tylerantiqua&nbsp;joins the only other Murgon frog, the ground-dwelling&nbsp;Platyplectrum casca&nbsp;(previously described as&nbsp;Lechriodus casca), as the oldest frogs known from Australia. Both have living relatives in Australia and New Guinea demonstrating remarkable resilience over time.“Despite their delicate nature, frogs have been surprisingly successful at surviving several mass extinction events since their origins about 250 million years ago, including the mass extinction 66 million years ago that took out the non-flying dinosaurs,” Dr Farman says.“Although global extinction events triggered by human activities – such as rapid climate change and the spread of chytrid fungus – may be among the worst challenges frogs have had to face, the fossil record could reveal how some frog groups overcame previous challenges, perhaps by adapting to new, less-threatening habitats. This could provide clues about how we might be able to help by translocating some threatened frogs into more future-secure habitats.”Frogs such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/02/how-palaeoconservation-can-rescue-animals-at-the-edge-of-existen" target="_blank">the southern corroboree frog</a>&nbsp;are threatened in their current habitats which have become more hostile due to climate change. The authors say that if the fossil record shows physically similar frogs living in very different habitats, today’s frogs may benefit by being reintroduced into similar environments.