Boundless Magazine: Issue_03

ISSUE_3

WORKERS

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GIG

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GIVING

CHANGING THE COURSE OF AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE

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INNOVATION PLACES

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ACCIONA SETS ITS SIGHTS ON GREEN HYDROGEN

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ROAD TO SUCCESS

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A PLATFORM FOR CHANGE

BREAKTHROUGH

TECH 2024

We acknowledge we are on Kaurna Miyurna land.

The Dreaming is still living.

From the past, in the present, into the future, forever.

Publisher Department of the Premier and Cabinet Editor Jenny Hassam, Lot Fourteen Art Direction Fern Buranasak, Lot Fourteen Contributors Acciona Michels Warren Photographer Matt Turner Jon Wah Graphics And Print Black Sheep Advertising

Cover photo Benjemen Elengovan, CEO and Founder, MyGigsters.

Pictured at Morphett Street Bridge, Adelaide. Photography Matt Turner.

Boundless is published bi-annually by the Government of South Australia. It is distributed via government partners and digitally via lotfourteen.com.au. No articles, illustrations, photographs and any other editorial matter or advertisement herein may be reproduced without written permission of copyright owner.

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CONTENTS

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Career Paths Learn from those taking their first career steps

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Smooth Generator The mini turbine packing a big punch

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Walking within Kuri Kurru Lot Fourteen’s new open space honours the first culture and peoples of place (Kaurna Meyunna)

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Flipping the Switch How innovation districts are changing the course of Australia’s future

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Beating the Hackers How three Aussie initiatives are tackling cyber risk at the source

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Is Your Workplace Psychologically Safe?

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ON THE COVER

Giving Gig Workers a platform for change

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Global Infrastructure Leader sets its sights on green hydrogen

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Shark Alert Breakthrough research predicting movements of ocean’s apex predators

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5 Breakthrough Technologies in 2024

Easy to apply.

Hard to ignore.

The State Brand.

Make it your business.

MC2324-0317

brand.sa.gov.au/apply

03

a moment with

DI DIXON STATE PROJECT LEAD

Welcome to Boundless_03!

Approaching five years as State Project Lead for Lot Fourteen, I continue to be surprised and inspired by the people who are the heartbeat of our innovation community.

And Lot Fourteen is a true community – where people from diverse backgrounds and experience, but with shared optimism, collaborate to solve today’s challenges, anticipate those of the future and translate ideas, research and real-life experiences into groundbreaking solutions.

In this issue we see that lived experience shaping innovation with Benjemen Elengovan whose MyGigsters financial platform to empower the safety and

financial wellbeing of gig workers, featured on page 16, came from time spent as an international student delivering food and assembling furniture.

On page 08, workplace safety is also the focus of a partnership between Teamgage and UniSA who are tackling psychosocial hazards costing Australian businesses billions of dollars annually in lost productivity.

While on page 34 read how Espy Ocean is undertaking world-first research into the climatic and environmental factors that is transforming understanding of shark behaviour and what it could mean for beach safety.

On page 26, global sustainable infrastructure solutions company Acciona shares why moving its SA headquarters to Lot Fourteen

is a great fit for the company’s renewable energy ambitions and its pursuit of green hydrogen.

While renewable energy and defence applications combine at ecoJet Engineering who have developed a palm-sized turbine featured on page 12 that could revolutionise energy generation on the battlefield and beyond.

Connecting more people with Lot Fourteen’s public realm and honouring the Traditional owners of the land on which we work is central to the District’s exciting new park, Kuri Kurru, details of which we are proud to share on page 22.

We hope you enjoy these stories and more in Boundless_03, and I look forward to welcoming you to our Lot Fourteen in the heart of Adelaide.

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Learn from those taking their first career steps in space, cyber, defence and hi-tech sectors.

CAREER PATHS

If you’re wondering how to get into the space sector or become a cyber security professional we’ve got you. Learn about the career paths of some of the inspiring young people who are studying, working and taking on internships at Lot Fourteen.

A AMBER Pegoli

Space Communicator & Programs and Operations Officer Australian Space Discovery Centre

What are you studying?

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours), Bachelor of Computer Science, and a Diploma of Languages (Italian studies). I’m currently in my 5th (and final) year, completing my honours project.

What does your role entail?

As a Space Communicator I get to spend my days talking to the public about space!

I chat to people about how important space technology is in our everyday lives, and share stories about all the brilliant things happening in the Australian space industry (which means I spend lots of my day talking about all of the cool businesses at Lot Fourteen!).

My favourite part of the job is getting to suggest opportunities and share advice to people who are just starting to think about a career in space, and sometimes, even changing the minds of those who had never considered a space career.

CA REER PAT HS 05

NICK Manser Satellite Systems Engineer SmartSat CRC

What did you study?

I studied a Bachelor in Computer and Information Science at the UniSA and subsequently completed at Masters in Computer Science at the University of Adelaide. This led me to working with Defence Science and Technology for 12 years, first as a Computer Scientist and then as a Cyber Security Specialist.

What does your role entail?

I have been working at SmartSat CRC since January 2022 as a Satellite Systems Engineer on the Kanyini CubeSat mission, which has been designed, manufactured and operated from Lot Fourteen.

Kanyini is equipped with a miniaturized hyperspectral camera payload, developed by cosine Remote Sensing in the Netherlands, which will enable a number of R&D activities for SmartSat. In this role, I collaborated closely with Inovor Technologies, the satellite manufacturer, to ensure the seamless integration of this payload into their ‘Apogee’ bus system. More recently, my responsibilities have transitioned to the operational management of the Earth observation mission, following a successful testing campaign of the satellite's flight model.

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NADIA Sarunic Systems Engineer

SmartSat CRC/Nova Systems

What did you study?

I studied a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronic) (Honours) and Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

What does your role entail?

HAYLEY Richardson

Modelling and Simulation Engineer Mechanical engineering team Inovor Technologies

What did you study?

I studied a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering majoring in Aerospace and a Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences.

I am working on the Kanyini satellite mission, utilising my software and systems engineering skills to test the software interface, document test procedures and results, and enable the integration and verification of the HyperScout 2 payload into the Kanyini satellite. I have also supported the team through the early stages of commissioning and operating the HyperScout 2 payload whilst in orbit.

What does your role entail?

My job involves the design and development of different models to simulate the behaviour of satellite systems under various conditions.

My favourite part of my job is the opportunity to be creative and solve interesting problems that contribute to the advancement of space technologies.

INOKA Silva

Junior Cyber Security Engineer Consultant Cyber Security Technology Unit, AizoOn Group

What did you study?

I studied a Master of Telecommunications from UniSA. This included the completion of the following professional certifications: EC council certified Ethical hacker, ITIL v4 IT service Management, CISCO CCNA, Splunk Enterprise certified Admin,

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TOM Papaemmanouil Software Engineer NQRY

What did you study?

AISHWARYA Pindoriya Marketing Intern C4 Space

I studied a Bachelor of Software Engineering at University of Adelaide.

I graduated in 2022 and have been with NQRY ever since. It took me a while to find my passion at university, and software engineering was actually my third degree. In the end, this path was the most rewarding and I’m very glad I chose it.

What does your role entail?

What did you study?

I am in my 3rd year of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) at UniSA. What does your role entail?

I am currently interning as a marketer at C4 Space where I get to immerse myself in practical marketing strategies in a professional environment. Despite initially not knowing much about the space sector, my role has illuminated the accessibility of diverse career trajectories in the sector, proving that formal education in space sciences isn't a prerequisite to work in the space industry. My internship has not only provided invaluable insights but has also reignited my passion for the work I love.

Certified in Cybersecurity by ISC2, PMP certification training course and Incident Response and management training by Australian Cyber Collaboration with AizoOn. What does your role entail?

I help businesses enhance their security posture through continuous monitoring, analysing threats in real-time, proactive threat hunting, prompt incident response, risk identification, and implementing effective solutions to mitigate potential threats.

We produce software tools for law enforcement agencies that streamline their processes, with my role focusing on development and occasional deployment and design tasks.

It's very rewarding to see the impact of our team's decisions and effort reflected within the software. It is also a super flexible and enjoyable work environment, with many opportunities to expand outside of my role.

08 IS YOUR WORK PL ACE P SYCHOLOGICA L LY SA FE?

Is your workplace

PSYCHOLOGIC

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onday mornings (and Sunday nights) can be hard to face if you have an unrelenting workload, or demanding team member or boss.

Psychosocial factors determine an individual’s mental and physical health and wellbeing and their ability to function.

The design and management of their work, social relationships and work environment can all impact an individual.

Many of us have experienced, witnessed, or heard toxic workplace lore.

This is where Prof Tuckey comes in.

UniSA Professor for Work and Organisational Psychology, Michelle Tuckey, has made it her mission to understand the psychosocial aspects of how work environments influence wellbeing.

Her research focusses on preventing workplace bullying, occupational stress, and sexual harassment, and enhancing workplace mindfulness.

At Lot Fourteen, Prof Tuckey is working with growing software company, Teamgage – combining her academic research with their tech platform for team engagement – and the outcome is a world-first.

WHAT IS A PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARD? When it comes to Work Health and Safety, workplaces have policies and procedures entrenched into our workplaces.

But are all workplaces safe from psychological harm?

“It’s very tempting to think about issues such as bullying and harassment as being a case of bad apples in the barrel – if we didn’t have this problematic person we wouldn’t have bullying, or sexual harassment going on,” she says.

“But actually, research shows it’s the barrel that determines the quality of our apples; if you have a healthy organisational environment, and healthy ways of working backed up with effective policies and procedures, then you can reduce the risk of harm from bullying and other psychosocial hazards.

“Bullying, for example, can only occur in an environment that allows it to happen and one that reinforces bullying behaviour.”

THE COSTS OF BULLYING The costs of bullying are significant. Around 1.1 million Australian workers experience serious workplace bullying and the Australian Productivity

Commission estimates the issue is costing billions of dollars annually in lost productivity.

Research by Prof Tuckey has also shown for the first time an evidential link between bullying and poor cognitive performance on objective tests of memory and attention.

“Bullying also kills your work culture and morale – it’s very toxic for those witnessing bullying or working in an environment that is enabling or reinforcing that kind of behaviour,” she says.

“Businesses need to pay more attention to this. Since the pandemic workers are voting with their feet and if the working conditions aren’t healthy, they will leave.”

In 2023, Australia’s workplace health and safety laws were strengthened prescribing specific psychosocial hazards - such as bullying, harassment, job demands, fatigue and lack of support - that employers must eliminate or minimise.

“The amended legislation requires businesses to proactively address workplace bullying and other psychosocial risks with the same rigour as physical health and safety hazards, which means they will need to go above and beyond administrative controls like policies and training,” Prof Tuckey says.

SAFE?

Bullying also kills your work culture and morale...

Professor Michelle Tuckey, Work and Organisational Psychology, UniSA.

CALLY

IS YOUR WORK PL ACE P SYCHOLOGICA L LY SA FE? 09

IS YOUR WORK PL ACE P SYCHOLOGICA L LY SA FE?

HELPING COMPANIES DO BETTER So, how can organisations identify the root causes of psychosocial hazards before they become a problem and then put in place steps to mitigate the risks?

That is where world-first research

by Prof Tuckey and a partnership with Lot Fourteen software company Teamgage is showing huge promise in transforming how workplaces stamp out bullying before it takes hold.

By analysing hundreds of bullying complaints lodged by workers with SafeworkSA, Prof Tuckey identified 10 work environment factors presenting the greatest risk for bullying and pyschosocial hazards. These included how working hours and entitlements are co-ordinated, how work performance is managed, and the nature of workplace relationships and broader environment.

From there, Prof Tuckey and her team developed a Healthy Workplaces by Design program – an evidence-based risk audit tool and risk management intervention process empowering companies to create a healthier workplace.

With the program, businesses undertake a tailored risk audit of their workplace – using Teamgage’s Huddle staff

engagement software - identify areas of focus, tailor strategies in those areas and evaluate the impact of the solutions.

The solutions are developed from the ground up, not top down, meaning those most at risk of bullying or psychosocial hazards are instrumental in transforming the workplace culture and conditions.

A randomized controlled trial of the Healthy Workplaces by Design program across 60 sites of a major supermarket company found a 24 per cent reduction in exposure to workplace bullying for participating teams, compared with a 155 per cent increase in bullying in the control teams working business-as-usual.

Additionally, the company has observed a 73 per cent reduction in sexual harassment complaints and a 46 per cent drop in workplace bullying complaints associated with the program.

“I would love to get more corporates using the program,” Prof Tuckey says. “This is an international first in terms of evidence-based, proactive risk management of bullying that is research backed, that focuses on the root causes in organisational systems.”

TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL Prof Tuckey is now working with Teamgage to scale up the impact of the wellness program by developing a commercially viable product.

“Teamgage have really good values and alignment to the work we’re doing…and they have practice-based evidence to support what works and what doesn’t work to create healthy teams,” Prof Tuckey says.

Founded in 2016, Teamgage is a staff engagement platform delivering fast, focused and frictionless staff feedback to support companies to build high-performing teams through continuous improvement.

Teamgage is used by Fortune 500 and ASX 100 companies in sectors including technology, finance, mining and construction as well as federal and state governments, with thousands of teams benefiting.

According to its own data, client teams using Teamgage’s Huddle platform have reported a 73 per cent increase in feedback participation, 24 per cent reduction in staff turnover and a nearly five-times improvement in performance.

Teamgage Chief Operating Officer Ben Colley says there is a strong synergy between their company and Prof Tuckey’s research.

Professor Michelle Tuckey, Work and Organisational Psychology, UniSA.

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“We noticed that the way the Healthy Workplaces by Design program is delivered really fits neatly on top of our technology and the way it works,” he says.

“With the new legislative landscape organisations are going to be proactively searching to find ways to manage psychosocial hazards.”

Left to right: Alexander Wright and James Kim of ecoJet Engineering.

12 SMOOT H GENER ATOR

SMOOT H GENER ATOR

SMOOTH GENERATOR The mini turbine packing a big punch.

ecoJet Engineering’s mission to revolutionise energy supply in the battlefield and beyond.

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ent, sleeping bag, torches, water, first-aid kit, toilet paper, camping chair, mosquito repellent, stove, portable speakers and perhaps a pack of UNO cards.

These are among common items you’d expect to be packed for a successful caravanning or camping trip.

But could jet engine-inspired portable generators be added to the off-road holiday essentials?

Two Adelaide entrepreneurs and mechanical and aerospace engineers hope so as they aim to revolutionise mobile power supply at home, on holidays and in the battlefield in a world-first breakthrough technology.

James Kim and Alexander Wright of ecoJet Engineering are a small team of specialists from Lot Fourteen focussed on innovating lightweight portable and fuel-flexible advanced microturbine solutions to modern energy problems.

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SMOOT H GENER ATOR

MINIATURISED JET ENGINE In its simplest form, the team’s technology is based on miniaturised jet engine technology, reconfigured and redesigned from the ground up to produce energy, instead of thrust, explains Wright, the company’s director of management and operations.

Founded in 2016, ecoJet’s vision to revolutionise energy generation was inspired when, as final year engineering students at the University of Adelaide, the team created a world-leading matchbox-sized jet engine that was 3D printed in titanium and capable of producing up to 1kW of power. Yes, that’s right – a jet engine that fits in the palm of the hand.

Their current development focus is a bespoke prototype 3kW mechanical microturbine engine paired with a high-speed electrical generator and inverter to create an extremely compact and efficient holistic energy system that runs at speeds of well over 100,000RPM (which is very fast).

This is all complemented with world-leading bespoke power electronics developed by their partnering company in Victoria.

Kim and Wright say their so-called Micro Turbine Inverter Genset (MTIG), made possible with funding from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Government of South Australia, could replace heavy, noisy and polluting diesel generators with a highly transportable and scalable power plant to meet power needs on the battlefield.

ecoJet Engineering enables greater energy resilience, adaptability, and agility through soldier-manoeuvrable microturbine generators.

The MTIG, Kim says, is a “fraction of the size and weight” of existing technology, has low-noise output, and critically can run on any fuel source to produce “reliable electricity at the source where and when it’s needed”.

“Warfighting and defence operations are increasingly energy dependent and energy hungry,” he explains.

“Sensors, drones, C4 systems, electric vehicles, as well as many weapons systems and platforms rely on power availability for their effectiveness. “ecoJet Engineering enables greater energy resilience, adaptability, and agility through soldier-manoeuvrable microturbine generators.

“Our technology enables significant advantages in size, weight, power, and fuel-flexibility whilst maintaining competitive, and in some cases leading, overall efficiency and noise control.”

SMOOT H GENER ATOR

LIGHTWEIGHT, SCALABLE POWER SUPPLY A dispatchable 3kW MTIG system would produce enough power to meet the energy demands of an average Australian household and could complement charging of an electric vehicle. In the battlefield it would be suitable for powering a small deployable command post and/or critical field equipment particularly in hard-toreach contested environments, or offering on-board power for small mobile platforms, Kim says.

MTIGs can be linked together to create a deployable scalable picogrid to meet more dynamic energy needs of the modern battlefield.

“Our system is designed such that you can have multiple units stacked together so you can easily scale anywhere from 3kW up to 45kW of power rapidly on demand,” Kim, the company’s director of engineering and products, says.

The fuel flexibility of the microturbine could be a particular advantage during disaster relief efforts when fuel may be in short supply or fuel type cannot be guaranteed in remote locations.

“It’s designed to be as flexible and adaptable as possible,” Kim adds.

While ecoJet is not the first developer of microturbine generator technology, Wright says most comparable systems are designed to be fixed location and are heavy or very fuel thirsty.

“In recent years some lighter systems have been developed for smaller-scale applications, however even these systems remain in the hundreds of kilograms,” he says.

“

Our system is designed such that you can have multiple units stacked together so you can easily scale anywhere from 3kW up to 45kW of power rapidly on demand.

James Kim, ecoJet Engineering

The current 3kW microturbine generator demonstrator prototype weighs about 30kg and the MTIG system, which includes additional Li-ion batteries for uninterrupted power supply, weighs about 70kgs – compared to 100-200kg for a comparable military diesel generator without any battery storage capability.

SUPPORTING SOVEREIGN CAPABILITY ecoJet expects these weights to significantly reduce as it refines its size and weight through further development.

“A big focus for us is that we can build and sustain this locally and build it into the ADF’s sovereign capability,” Kim says.

Depending on trials and funding, they hope to have initial product offerings within the next couple of years.

Which brings us back to camping. While the immediate focus is on applications in defence, Wright and Kim see widespread commercial uses for their portable turbines, including EV charging and auxiliary power units for camping trailers.

“The beauty is that our systems are much quieter than other generators, have far fewer moving parts thereby requiring significantly less maintenance, and can even rapidly transition to cleaner fuels such as hydrogen as they are made available - the applications are endless,” Wright says.

The microturbine development has also had the support of OptoFab, based at the University of Adelaide’s North Terrace campus, who provide ecoJet with titanium metal 3D printing and precision ultrasonic milling machining capabilities.

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GI V ING GIG WORK ERS A PL AT FORM FOR CH A NGE

GIVING

GIG WORKERS

A PLATFORM FOR CHANGE MyGigsters CEO unpacks his founder journey.

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Benjemen Elengovan, Founder, MyGigsters.

GI V ING GIG WORK ERS A PL AT FORM FOR CH A NGE

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GI V ING GIG WORK ERS A PL AT FORM FOR CH A NGE

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movie script, a great speech, or lessons learned from your parents or a mentor.

The values that guide us and inspire us can come in many forms and from many sources, even where you least expect them.

Benjemen Elengovan, Founder, MyGigsters.

Benjemen Elengovan’s approach to life is written on a $5 mass-produced motivational poster which hangs from a wall in his home office.

“Dream big, speak the truth, work hard, treasure your friends and be awesome,” the 35-year-old founder of Lot Fourteen based MyGigsters says reading from the poster during a chat with Boundless.

“As soon as I saw it I thought, that’s the approach that I follow, so I should buy this.”

And it’s an approach that has served him well. Today his financial services software platform MyGigsters, launched in 2020 during the height of COVID, has more than 6,000 users, is growing revenue at 200 per cent a month, and has earned him multiple accolades for empowering the financial security and safety of the burgeoning gig worker economy.

Described as a ‘communitydriven’ financial services platform, MyGigsters allows gig workers and the self-employed to access financial services and captures real-time data on earnings and expenses so they can maximise their income.

The AI proprietary technology can automatically detect tax deductions based on the users’ gig profile, their expenses and match them with registered tax agents who will lodge GST, BAS and tax automatically.

So, giving the self-employed more time to work without worrying about the paperwork.

GI V ING GIG WORK ERS A PL AT FORM FOR CH A NGE

MyGigsters allows gig workers and the self-employed to access financial services and captures real-time data on earnings and expenses so they can maximise their income.

MyGigsters earns a service fee from accountants who pay to use the solution and the platform has partnerships with dozens of brands including UberEats, DoorDash, HustleCover, Zoomo and RedBookInspect and South Australian businesses like Courier App, Cobber, Crew HQ, Createcrownd and SAMii. The platform uses third-party integrations such as open banking, document verification providers and large language models and is available for accountants as a white-labelled offering or SAAS product.

With certain partners, MyGigsters has embedded integrations via APIs to facilitate services.

Elengovan employs 12 staff across Adelaide, Melbourne and overseas where his vision for the startup was born through trial, error, lived experience and his mantra of dreaming big and working hard.

His startup journey began at age 19, when the then budding biotechnical engineer, set up a medical tourism booking agency in India called Noah’s Ark connecting overseas patients with cheaper medical procedures.

He was ahead of his time, except… “I didn’t know how to run a business so I messed it up”.

The upside was the experience sparked a passion for business and entrepreneurship, and in 2012 he moved with his parents to Abu Dhabi to work as a business consultant in areas of organisational planning, business systems and innovation risks.

He became restless, and with the prompting of his Australian boss he moved to Melbourne in 2015 securing a double scholarship for a Masters in Health Administration and Business Administration at La Trobe University.

He walked the well-worn path of many international students, juggling odd jobs to earn some money, ranging from delivery driver to IKEA furniture assembler.

“I think at one stage I had 6 or 7 jobs but I really loved it because it gave me the opportunity to put myself in other people’s shoes and look at life from another angle,” Elengovan says.

In 2020, as the pandemic gripped the world, the precarious and unsafe nature of the gig economy was put under the spotlight with the high-profile death of delivery drivers in Melbourne.

At the time Elengovan was working as a business consultant while running another startup called MySafetyBot – an IoT company that used AI to optimise workplace design and safety.

Except, he could not get penetration in Australia “mainly because businesses didn’t know what I was trying to sell or maybe I didn’t know how to sell the product”, he says.

In response to the gig worker fatalities, the Victorian Government launched a startup challenge offering investment to whomever could deliver a solution to improve the safety of gig workers – an area close to Elengovan’s heart and his desire to help.

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20 GI V ING GIG WORK ERS A PL AT FORM FOR CH A NGE

Elengovan’s MyGigsters concept was chosen from 68 ideas and received $215,000 to invest in the platform.

“I built the first feature of MyGigsters within four weeks allowing users to track their income and expenditure.”

South Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science sponsored Elengovan into SA at the end of 2020 on its pilot visa program ‘Supporting Innovation in South Australia’ so he could pursue MyGigsters in Adelaide.

There are more than 100 gig platforms operating in Australia and Elengovan sees huge potential for MyGigsters to support federal reforms of the gig economy to provide workers with minimum standards such as pay, penalty rates and superannuation.

“My learnings with MySafetyBot were to not build the tech first, sell the product first and fall in love with the problem and not with the solution; the more you love the problem, you will find a solution that solves the problem,” Elengovan says.

“MyGigsters started with a Facebook group that grew to a couple of hundred users within a couple of months, then we started a podcast and a community newsletter.

“Using the community as my backup, I asked them what their problems were, validated their needs and then launched a landing page showing them what I planned to build to solve their problems.

“Personally, post-COVID and in the current inflation situation, I have seen at least a 45 per cent increase in people working traditional nine-to-five jobs who have started side hustles,” he says.

“And the public perception of gig workers has improved a lot, a lot of young people have decided to work for themselves but we’re also seeing a silver workforce of people who are retired but returning as independent contractors or freelancers.

“

“There are however a significant portion of gig workers who still have no bargaining power with some platforms and the government is trying to address that.”

He says being located at Lot Fourteen, with other fintech companies has helped to build the company’s story and brand.

“One of my investors used to say that if you want to be lucky you have to increase the surface area so that luck can strike you.

One way to increase your surface area is to be part of a bigger surface area,” he says of the decision to move to Lot Fourteen’s Stone & Chalk community.

Elengovan is also founder of a software solutions company Megamind Creations and director of Gufy, which supports earlystage startups – so they too can dream big.

I built the first feature of MyGigsters within four weeks.

Benjemen Elengovan, Founder, MyGigsters

Burka, Senior man, Karl Winda Telfer of the Mullawirra Meyunna – the Dry Forest people of the Kaurna Meyunna (people).

22 WA L K ING WI T HIN K URI K URRU

WA L K ING WI T HIN K URI K URRU 23

WALKING WITHIN KURI KURRU Lot Fourteen’s new open space honours the First Culture and Peoples of Place (Kaurna Meyunna).

24 WA L K ING WI T HIN K URI K URRU

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s we walk into Kuri Kurru – Place of Turning Seasons, the newly opened park at Lot Fourteen, our eyes are drawn to the intricate details and cultural elements integrated into every aspect of its codesign.

Entering the park, six native bottle trees set the scene for the cultural significance of the park.

Look up and you’ll see coloured lights and glass engravings of the celestial orbs of Wodliparri (the Milky Way) above tables shaped like kurru (Aboriginal carrying vessels).

At your feet, are rock seating areas in circles, stone etchings of land and water movement, possum markings on metal tree grates and semi-translucent decals of Kari (emus) and Tarnda (Red kangaroos) on a bookable meeting pod.

In the background the sounds of a water feature babbling away near the lawn area and open-air stage surrounded by native plants and Kurrajong.

The park has eight spaces, some of which hold First Nations stories. One such space is Pure Tikkandi (the sitting stones) area, with seven stones illustrating a deep connected relationship of song, ceremony, star and life.

This is the place of turning time in country and of turning seasons. Which is why I named it Kuri Kurru.

Burka, Senior man, Karl Winda Telfer of the Mullawirra Meyunna – the Dry Forest people of the Kaurna Meyunna people

They hold a value of the past, present and future in the now as they represent deep cycles of movement throughout the country. This story is held by Burka, Senior man, Karl Winda Telfer of the Mullawirra Meyunna – the Dry Forest people of the Kaurna Meyunna people.

Boundless sat down for a coffee and a yarn with Telfer, to discuss all things cultural and spiritual renewal, the enduring impact of colonisation to the nuances of storytelling.

His passion for his living culture, his two daughters Jakirah and Tikana, and for the world is clear and our conversation meanders from surface to deep, laughing to contemplative.

Telfer worked with his daughters, the park’s landscape architects, Oxigen and the Lot Fourteen project team as Cultural Creative to codesign and lead the cultural layering of the park.

“Our family are bringing our storytelling into this place.

Through cultural landscape integration and collaboration.

It’s about the stories my family hold and how we bring them to life through Yellaka – ‘Old Wisdom – New Ways’,” he says.

PARK ZONES —— OPEN AIR STAGE

YAINTYA WONGGANDI (Talk and Story Place)

WATER FEATURE

KAUWERILA MUKABANDI (Travelling Waters)

STONE SEATS

PURE TIKKANDI (Sitting Stones)

POD GLAZING

YURRENGANENDI (Listen Place)

SIGNAGE/DIGITAL PLATFORM NUKKONDI (To See, To Know) TREE GRATES

BULTO ITYANGGA (Traces on the Ground)

GATHERING CIRCLE

KUMANGKA KURI (Connecting Place)

ARBOUR AND TABLES

KARRA KARRA KURI (Turning Sky)

WA L K ING WI T HIN K URI K URRU 25

For more than 60,000 years, the land now occupied by Lot Fourteen was an integral site to the Kaurna people as a place for camping and ceremony, between the banks of Tarnda Parri/Karrawirra Parri (Red Gum forest River; River Torrens) and the waterholes of Kainka Wirra (Eucalypt forest, Adelaide Botanic Garden).

When talking of the area’s history, Telfer describes its impact rippling outwards across Kaurna Meyunna Yerta (Kaurna Peoples country).

“The area was used as a traditional sit down place.

A place of ceremony," he says.

“This is the place of turning time in country and of turning seasons. Which is why I named it Kuri Kurru.”

Specific plants and trees were selected to highlight the changes of the seasons, reflecting Kuri Kurru’s name.

Telfer says “Kuri Kurru is where we will provide cultural education. We tell the story through the cultural markings on the ground.” Telfer references some of the elements of story, which can be found throughout the park in design elements.

“We are placing the tracks and traces back on the ground, so we can tell the old stories from the past today," he says.

“Bringing better ways of understanding place.

It represents more than one generation and those people that hold the wisdom.

“Our stories are as ancient as the rock itself. It’s the creation of a place where we can take people deeper to listen and learn from the first peoples of Country."

When asked about climate change, about the impact of colonisation on Kaurna Meyunna Yerta and of the ancient history Country holds for the Kaurna Meyunna people, Telfer offers up the wisdom he is so highly regarded for: “I carry story from the past seven generations thinking of the seven coming, I have cultural obligations to care for Country and the people whom now dwell in my Spirit of Place,” he says.

“COUNTRY WILL STILL BE HERE WHEN WE’RE ALL GONE.”

SCAN FOR THE LOCATION.

26 GLOBA L INFR AST RUCT URE L E A DER SE TS I TS SIGH TS ON GREEN H Y DR OGEN

Global infrastructure leader sets its sights on green hydrogen

THINK OF A TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOT FOURTEEN’S NEWEST TENANT ON THE BLOCK HAS PROBABLY BUILT IT SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD.

27 Bede Noonan, CEO, ACCIONA Australia & New Zealand.

GLOBA L INFR AST RUCT URE L E A DER SE TS I TS SIGH TS ON GREEN H Y DR OGEN

28 GLOBA L INFR AST RUCT URE L E A DER SE TS I TS SIGH TS ON GREEN H Y DR OGEN

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We work in a hard to abateindustry and we have decoupled emissions growth and business growth – this is our net-zero mindset shift.

Bede Noonan, CEO, ACCIONA Australia & New Zealand

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rom a 15km long metro in Brazil, to an iconic cable-stayed bridge in the Philippines and one of the largest dams in Canada, Acciona has a presence in more than 40 countries and a turnover of €17.02 billion in 2023.

Acciona is among a handful of global organisations, including Disney, Microsoft and Shell, who have established self-imposed internal carbon prices to reduce emissions, promote energy efficiency and encourage the use of cleaner sources of power, just as a government tax would.

The company is developing largescale renewable energy projects in Australia and setting up at Lot Fourteen ensures it can work with other innovators to explore renewable energy and defence opportunities in the state. Closer to home, the company has been delivering transport, water and energy infrastructure needs for decades in South Australia.

Since 2020, Acciona has been using its resulting Decarbonisation Fund to purchase carbon credits for those emissions that cannot be abated and, importantly, to invest in pioneering projects to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and to drive innovation in the decarbonisation of the construction industry.

“We have had a Sustainability Master Plan serving as a roadmap for all our actions since 2010, achieving 100 per cent carbon neutral scope one and two emissions status since 2016,” says Bede Noonan, Acciona CEO Australia & New Zealand.

“In 2022, we achieved a 15 per cent1 emission reduction compared to 2021, and in 2023 reduced a further 7 per cent compared to 2022 even though we grew the company’s operations.

“This is something we’re proud of, we work in a hard to abate-industry and we have decoupled emissions growth and business growth – this is our net-zero mindset shift.”

GLOBA L INFR AST RUCT URE L E A DER SE TS I TS SIGH TS ON GREEN H Y DR OGEN 29

HYDROTREATED VEGETABLE OIL Beyond green hydrogen, the company is working with the Australian Constructors Association to champion Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), made by reusing vegetable oils and fats.

They recognise that HVO provides a remarkably sustainable alternative to traditional diesel fuel with no machinery modifications and no adverse effects to machine output.

Last year they completed a successful trial of HVO in earthmoving equipment at the MacIntyre Wind Farm, in Queensland, seeing tailpipe emissions reduced by over 90 per cent.

GREEN HYDROGEN

MOVING TO NET ZERO

In step with the South Australia Government's Hydrogen Action Plan to accelerate new hydrogen projects, Acciona has been looking at green hydrogen as a potential fuel source for large plant and equipment.

Acciona’s goal is to achieve a 60 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, and so as new technology is developed globally, they actively aim to be an early adopter of hybrid, electric and hydrogen equipment and vehicles to further reduce their environmental footprint.

Like being the owner and operator of Australia’s first Liebherr LB30 ‘Unplugged’ piling rig, the world’s largest capacity battery-operated piling rig.

Late last year, Acciona trialed a hydrogen generator, with the aim of proving the validity of the technology and safety aspects of hydrogen as a power source. The project trial provided invaluable experience for the team in safety approvals, exclusion zones and other operating requirements.

“We absolutely need to be trialing the technology and gathering learnings now, as we know green hydrogen will be a critical fuel in the industry’s future. This year we want to push the limit further with a world-first trial using green hydrogen to generate power for a 25-tonne piling rig,” says Noonan.

A strong pipeline of projects in South Australia provides a unique opportunity to introduce hydrogen generators to major infrastructure construction.

“The South Australian power grid is unique in its use of renewable energy, with up to 95 per cent of the power grid comprising renewable power.

When hydrogen is made using renewable electricity, the result is a carbon-free fuel,” says Danny Parkinson, Acciona’s Regional Manager South Australia.

“We are committed to decarbonising our business by pioneering trials, driving change and pushing progress in this area,” says Noonan.

“Just as importantly as meeting our own ambitious decarbonisation aims, we want to support the construction industry, South Australia and the nation to decarbonise as well.”

The company has also introduced electric motorcycles and a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle as transport options for employees, and industry-leading trials of emerging technologies.

In 2023, Acciona was crowned Australian Financial Review’s overall Sustainability Leader for Impact, placing it as one of the top companies across 13 categories.

1 These reductions are reported through the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and aligned to Acciona’s emission reduction targets set through science-based targets.

Di Dixon, State Project Lead, Lot Fourteen, Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

30 FL IPPING T HE SWI TCH

FL IPPING T HE SWI TCH

31

Flipping Switch the

How innovation districts are changing the course of Australia's future.

32 FL IPPING T HE SWI TCH “Lot Fourteen’s success has been to consistently focus on activation, programming and setting up an environment where people move around its physical structures and are exposed to those from other, compatible sectors.

“Lot Fourteen has broken down silos through the curation and co-location of over 160 organisations onsite.

“The rest of the country, and some of the world, are watching Lot Fourteen for that reason. They look in awe at the rapid transformation of the site in the heart of a city.

“Getting the right anchor tenants conveyed confidence from the get-go,” Ms Dixon says, which has then attracted the companies who need to both attract and retain workforces post-pandemic and during times of global skill shortages.

S

even years ago, Lot Fourteen, South Australia’s landmark innovation district, was a fully functioning hospital.

Boundless caught up with the powerhouse behind Lot Fourteen, Di Dixon, to get an exclusive look into its progress and a new piece of work she’s leading for South Australia, which she talks about here for the first time.

When asking State Innovation Places Lead, Ms Dixon, about how Lot Fourteen compares to other knowledge precincts, tech hubs and innovation districts around the world she references the speed at which development has occurred, which globally is not the norm.

“We demolished a hospital, retained the historical elements and created a juxtaposition with the hi-tech, defence, space, cyber and creative sectors.

Our offering is way more than your average new build on a greenfield site out of town,” says Ms Dixon who often escorts international delegations and dignitaries, including Prime Ministers and military heads, around the innovation district who are looking for the magic formula for economic growth.

“Now, we need to maintain that momentum.

Bring new infrastructure online and focus on growth, increased productivity and retention.”

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We believe that the collaborative environment at Lot Fourteen has incredible potential to encourage innovation and spark inspiration between different teams, organisations and sectors – in one location.

Brendan Hopper, CIO for Technology, Commonwealth Bank

FL IPPING T HE SWI TCH 33

“

The precise curation of motivated and complementary technology organisations, underpinned by a melting-pot of talented and motivated expert individuals, makes Lot Fourteen the perfect epicentre for space, defence and cyber security in the Asia Pacific region.

Julie Bowen, Senior Vice President for Operations and Outreach and Chief Legal Officer - MITRE Corporation

Why innovation districts Despite being the world’s 9th largest economy, Australia has a low and declining economic complexity rating of 93 out of 133 countries. We are the lowestranked OECD country on the index.

Innovation districts are a viable part of stimulating economic complexity, where research silos are broken down, local strengths leveraged, new technologies envisioned and built and where collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity collide.

Global research from the Brookings Institute shows that innovation districts are instrumental in driving productivity, economic and job growth, social prosperity, sovereignty and industry resilience.

The Brookings Institute also outlines how innovation districts represent a radical departure from traditional economic development.

They help their city and metropolis move up the value chain of global competitiveness by growing the firms, networks and traded sectors that drive broad-based prosperity.

While the Australian Innovation System Report states that innovation district collaboration is associated with a 70 per cent increase in the likelihood of newto-world innovation and a 32 per cent increase in the likelihood of new-to-Australia innovation.

This is backed up locally, with a recent survey by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in South Australia of businesses at Lot Fourteen, Tonsley Innovation District and BioMed City, finding nearly 80 per cent of surveyed companies had introduced new services, processes or business models in 2022. Of those innovations 54 per cent were ‘new to the world’ with 13 per cent of innovations new to Australia.

So, what’s the plan?

With $9.5 billion state and federal government investment into South Australian innovation places to date, a centralised strategic vision and policy position is being put together by Ms Dixon’s team.

In a first for Australia, the Innovation Places Leadership Framework will be launched this year.

“For South Australia to be recognised as a thriving and globally competitive innovation state, we must build on our economic strengths and assets,” says Ms Dixon who has spearheaded the creation of the new Framework to realise the state’s economic vision.

“Currently, while connections exist between the state’s innovation places and economic hubs, such as innovation districts, business parks and manufacturing precincts, they have mostly operated independently.

“South Australians has been built on strong networks and collaboration, and leveraging the investment into innovation places has the ingenuity to make a significant contribution to the state, national and the world’s economic future.”

For every innovation-focused or knowledge intensive job a district creates, it generates four to five additional support jobs.

The Atlas of Innovation Districts.

Ian Dewey, CEO, ESpy Ocean.

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Shark Alert:

Breakthrough research predicting movements of ocean’s apex predators

Sharks, satellites and artificial intelligence have come together in a world-first Lot Fourteen led project aimed at predicting the risk of a shark attack.

36 SH A RK A L ERT

Lot Fourteen based ESpy Ocean has developed an AI model, in partnership with the University of Adelaide and funded by the NSW Department of Fisheries, that is able to determine with ‘90 per cent accuracy’ the environmental factors influencing a shark’s behaviour.

The ultimate goal is to develop a public warning system, similar to that used for bushfires, based on a low-tohigh risk rating of potential for a shark attack based on their predicted behaviour.

The public can then check warnings for their favourite swim or surf spots and decide whether it’s safe to enter the water, or perhaps shelf the surfboard for another day.

“For me the goal is to be able to look at the satellite imagery each day and then use the AI to assess the conditions and identify which beaches are high and low risk of a shark encounter,” says ESpy Ocean CEO Ian Dewey.

“We can then say these beaches have the likely conditions to attract sharks and lead to a higher propensity for a shark attack and send out warnings much like with bushfires.

“Resources can then be deployed to monitor the beaches rather than wasting fuel on a plane going up and down the coast in areas where there is no danger.”

“

...to use the AI to assess the conditions and identify which beaches are high and low risk of a shark encounter...

Ian Dewey, CEO, ESpy Ocean

FROM PEACEFUL TO PREDATOR ESpy Ocean, founded in 2021 and based in the Stone & Chalk Startup Hub, are remote sensing experts.

Using the power of hyperspectral imagery, the company has developed programs to rapidly detect illegal fishing and transport vessels, detect methane emissions and identify and track schools of prized southern bluefin tuna.

With sharks, ESpy has combined its satellite expertise with AI software to identify/predict weather patterns and water temperatures that could transform a shark’s behaviour from peaceful to apex predator.

To develop the AI model, Dewey and his team analysed a database of the movements of nearly 1000 Great White sharks tagged by NSW Department of Fisheries.

They then isolated those sharks where there was a noticeable change in their behaviour and fed the AI satellite data to find a relationship between environmental conditions and the shark’s movements.

Multispectral imagery can identify ocean attributes such as chlorophyll levels, water temperature, currents and water clarity.

“We’ve got to the stage we're getting a 90 per cent prediction of a shark’s movements – so if the shark goes north, 90 per cent of the time the AI said it would have gone north, if the shark stays where it is, 90 per cent of the time the AI says it will stay where it is,” Dewey says.

“We’re now working to classify this behaviour, effectively tell the AI that in a particular situation, the shark went to another spot, in this situation it started feeding, or in another it joined a group of sharks or it left a group of sharks.

“The one that we'd love to see is when they become aggressive.”

predicting

SH A RK A L ERT

Ian Dewey, CEO, ESpy Ocean.

movements

IS IT SAFE TO GO INTO THE WATER? Dewey says predicting movements of Great White sharks based on environmental factors would have “massive ramifications” for the protection of swimmers.

“We know that sharks are present and that the conditions for attack regularly occur, with sharks and humans in close proximity,” he says.

“The missing piece of the puzzle is an understanding of what changes the behaviour of the shark from being benign cohabiter to aggressive predator, and that’s what we’re trying to solve.”

The Australian SharkIncident Database shows there were 18 shark attacks in 2023, including two fatal attacks in South Australia.

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According to Dewey, a shark has two motives for attack: hunger, a human may be the right size and shape to eat.

And territorial: a human is in its area and they want it to go away.

“But there’s no definitive consensus as to why a shark will or won’t attack – and that’s the question we’re trying to help answer; what we’ve done has never been done before.”

“What we do know is the average white shark attack has been from young males attacking in a belligerent way,” Dewey says.

The next stage for ESpy Ocean is to complete its AI model by mid-2024 with the aim of having a warning system in place along NSW beaches in time for this summer.

“There's a number of things that tend to come together but what we know is that generally white shark attacks occur in cool clear water, with the incoming tide which is where all of the shark sensors will work really well, and the shark knows what it's doing.

“Sharks have really bad eyesight, so clear water is where their eyesight is going to work, as well as their electric and movement sensors that allow them to sense water movement.

This program won the 2024 award for Earth Observation Program of the Year from AusSpace24 Australian Space Awards _Australia’s benchmark awards program for excellence in the emerging field of space.

38 BE AT ING T HE H ACK ERS

BE AT ING T HE H ACK ERS 39

Beating the hackers how three Aussie initiatives are tackling cyber risk at the source

40 BE AT ING T HE H ACK ERS

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rom new tech solutions to global collaborations the organisations at Lot Fourteen are leading the way when it comes to tackling cybercrime.

Cybercrime is not just a cybersecurity issue; it’s a complex challenge that requires international collaboration, ethical considerations, and robust legal frameworks.

Here we deep dive into three projects which are changing the landscape for the better.

INSIDER RISK STOPS HERE It was in 2013 when insider risk came to the fore, as information from an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 classified US National Security Council documents were leaked and published in the media by, then employee, Edward Snowden.

“

In 2024, 20 per cent of security breaches are caused by insider risks according to the Verizon 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report. Threats that come from inside organisations, are via individuals who use their authorised access—intentionally or unintentionally—to compromise networks, data or devices.

These are not hackers, but will be current or former employees (whose access wasn’t revoked) and/or third-party contractors.

To help tackle insider risks, the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre (Aus3C) have established AIR CoE – the Australian Insider Risk Centre of Excellence.

AIR CoE is dedicated to strengthening our nation’s cyber resilience through collaborative insider risk management.

The Centre of Excellence will enable collaboration between government, industry and academia and will advance global security and resiliency through community building and knowledge transfer.

The new initiative has already brought together 700 practitioners from across Australia and the Five Eyes countries - Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Cybercrime is a complex To tackle this complex and challenge challenging issue, business that requires functions – governance, risk, compliance, IT and HR - across international industry, government and academia are working together collaboration, to help learn from each other and share international best practice. ethical considerations, and robust legal frameworks.

USING DECOYS TO DECEIVE CYBERCRIMINALS Beating cybercriminals at their own game, is the premise of this clever startup with a world-first early warning detection platform.

FIRCY, based in the Stone & Chalk Startup Hub at Lot Fourteen, uses realistic decoys and intelligence to deceive, lure and hunt cybercriminals.

Its platform is built for early warning detection in cloud and non-cloud environments.

Creating decoy environments and traps the startup detects and traces cyber-attacks. This strategy of building hyperrealistic fake environments has a number of beneficial outcomes, but namely diverts and protects against hack attempts and data breaches.

By creating decoys, the platform redirects hackers to a secure location providing them with false information like usernames and passwords, which when harvested can be traced outside of the platform. It will also detect IP addresses and locations and provides a monitoring system which blocks cyber threats in real-time. Not only does it waste a cybercriminal’s time, by observing their actions it learns more about them and the outcomes they want and will collect forensic information for any prosecutions.

Founded by former AWS Principal Security Lead, Ben Potter, FIRCY is creating a unique proposition for their clients as they scale their platform.

BE AT ING T HE H ACK ERS

A cybersecurity tool to help people combat the increase in online scams thanks to a new National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN) Cyber Alliance, supported by Aus3C and Innovation Central Canberra, at the University of Canberra.

SafeClick, is an online platform that assists the public to make more informed decisions about the riskiness of websites, while providing cybersecurity resources.

Developed by a group of final year IT students, SafeClick determines whether URLs can be trusted by giving a quick risk score, using an easy-to-understand traffic light system via simple dashboarding.

The website is underpinned by the extensive access Cisco has to current threat intelligence tools such as TALOS and the students hope it will help people become more cyber-savvy and less susceptible to online fraud.

to boost the number of students pursuing technology careers through a researcher program and skill development initiatives.

Cisco Networking Academy is a global IT and cybersecurity education program that partners with learning institutions around the world to empower all people with career opportunities.

It is Cisco’s largest and longestrunning Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility program.

Cisco’s cyber security team is based at Lot Fourteen. The company works in partnership with universities nationwide, including local engagement with Flinders University via the NIIN,

Matt Salier, CEO and Rachael Hamilton, Strategic Projects Manager, Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre in the Cyber Range, Lot Fourteen.

SAFECLICK – NEW WEBSITE HELPS PROTECT THE COMMUNITY

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42 BRE A K T HR OUGH T ECHNOLOGIES 2024

BREAK― THROUGH TECHNO— LOGIES I

n South Australia, we are developing world leading technology including hydrogen power, the most accurate clocks in the world and quantum computing. These key innovations have the potential for radically changing our lives. Here we deep dive into five companies doing awesome work at Lot Fourteen.

BRE A K T HR OUGH T ECHNOLOGIES 2024 43

From the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of our galaxy, see which technologies – built and deployed out of Lot Fourteen – are impacting and changing the world for the better.

44 BRE A K T HR OUGH T ECHNOLOGIES 2024

D-CAT REMOTE SENSING AND AI Remote sensing coupled with advanced processing - AI or machine learning elements - is one way Stone & Chalk company D-CAT is helping customers track and detect greenhouse gas emissions.

As we move towards a net zero economy, provision of critical evidence for carbon and sustainability projects of the actual and measurable impact of carbon offsetting, carbon sequestration is paramount.

D-CAT uses the most advanced spectral, interferometric, image processing and machine learning techniques on satellite imagery (optical and radar), potentially fused with other data, to derive insights about what is on the ground.

Example applications include the tracking of biodiversity, land change, tree detection and height mapping, GHG emissions, water quality and land movement. The latter is a good example of marrying synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from satellites with cuttingedge differential interferometric techniques (DInSAR) to detect even the smallest movements of land or assets.

The company’s Fusion Platform provides data to be delivered at scale automatically, assisting sectors as diverse as finance, energy, utilities, food and agriculture with valuable business insights.

The opportunities are endless, just ask D-CAT co-founder and chief technology officer Dr Moira Smith who has spent her career as an aerospace engineer, working predominantly in defence but is now focused on bringing the benefits of this technology to other sectors worldwide, together with those closer to home like Elders and Veolia.

WORLD-LEADING SPACECRAFT PROPULSION Neumann Space has developed one of the world’s most efficient ion engines – a significant feat for a small company who went from lab to space last year and is now looking at expanding its business.

Their engine avoids the issues of other technologies using gaseous or liquid propellants, often toxic and expensive, and challenging to operate in the harsh space environment.

Although the physics isn’t new, making it work in space, especially in a CubeSat form factor, requires serious engineering skills.

Generated with AI.

NEUMANN SPACE

BRE A K T HR OUGH T ECHNOLOGIES 2024 45

Ion engines are low-thrust propulsion systems with a long runtime, perfect for spacecraft flight.

In their case, the Neumann Drive® generates thrust by converting a solid metal rod into plasma and accelerating the charged particles using an electromagnetic field.

The Neumann Drive is unrivalled on the market. Its unique metal rods can be made (on Earth and in space) of any solid conductive metals and alloys – including the many tons of various metallic debris already in orbit.

Given that the Drive’s propellant is a solid object that is non-hazardous, solid-state and chemically inert, the product’s main competitive advantage is it simplicity, from manufacturing to in-space operations.

Neumann Space has established a strong team of about 15 engineers at Lot Fourteen and is about to scale up its Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Test (MAIT) capabilities to work with local and international satellite manufacturers.

Two of their engineers are just back from Denmark and the U.K. where they integrated their propulsion systems into a 6U CubeSat for a European Space Agency project with Space Inventor, and a larger satellite from SSTL (another Lot Fourteen space company).

Without propulsion, there is no space economy. Neumann Space is on a mission to enable the sustainable economic development of space with superior mobility and can’t wait to see its third launch later this year.

46 BRE A K T HR OUGH T ECHNOLOGIES 2024

IONDRIVE INNOVATION IN BATTERY RECYCLING More consumer electronics and more electric vehicles, means more electronic waste. And that includes batteries. Australia, Europe and the rest of the world are increasingly looking to recycle batteries to recover the critical elements therein, rather than consigning them to landfill.

Iondrive and University of Adelaide are researching the development of a viable, environmentally sustainable, and recyclable, deep eutectic solvent (DES) and other benign, biodegradable organic solvents that selectively recovers critical metal elements from spent Li-ion batteries without the use of corrosive agents.

“The breakthrough innovation of our DES recycling technology lies in its unique ability to differentially isolate and recover metal elements from cathode materials, notably NCM, widely employed in electric vehicle batteries,” says CEO, Ebbe Dommisse. “Moreover, the use of benign organic solvents that are biodegradable in a closed loop recycling process considerably reduces the environmental footprint of a hydrometallurgical process – which is very attractive for EU and USA markets looking for more eco-friendly processes”.

The Battery Stewardship Council reported that in 2017-18 just 6 per cent, or 320 tonnes, of lithium-ion batteries that reached end-of-life were recycled. A stark contrast to 50 per cent recycle rate in Europe.

“Our primary objective is to commercialise the technology,” says Dommisse.

“To this end we have scaled up the technology from laboratory research to large-scale bench trials and in the process of completing a pre-feasibility study to complete a techno-economic valuation and benchmarking study before embarking on a pilot plant project. The fully integrated, continuous closed loop pilot plant project will kick off after completion of the pre-feasibility study targeted for October 2024. The project will evaluate, develop, and optimize the process over a 2-3 year period."

ASX-listed Iondrive have a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the University of Adelaide with an initial investment of $2.5 million over three years in battery and research development, while several Federal grants have been awarded to co-fund further research activities – to be announced soon.

LINK4

BRE A K T HR OUGH T ECHNOLOGIES 2024

NEW CLOUD ACCOUNTING TECH Traditional accounting has had a seismic shift in the past couple of decades thanks to cloud accounting systems, with one Lot Fourteen startup part of the revolution.

For Link4, based in the Stone & Chalk Startup Hub, it’s all about a service that streamlines and automates the invoice process for finance teams, ensuring quicker payment. Sending invoices via email is a risk for every business, and the biggest security hole that malicious players target.

Platform-agnostic, Link4 is designed to add-on to current accounting and ERP systems to enable users to send invoices directly into their customer’s accounting systems instantly.

Basically, they are a translator that allows the accounting systems to communicate in a safe, secure, real-time environment.

This is all done with groundbreaking tech developed in Adelaide and being used across 5,000 organisations in the region. And, thanks to a new a strategic partnership with Oracle NetSuite, Link4 is rapidly building an international client portfolio in new markets.

Link4 now has offices in four countries that currently service customers in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Norway, Belgium, France and the UK. eInvoicing is now mandated for Australian Government departments. Link4 boasts more federal government customers than their second and third most popular competitors combined.

The Link4 technology meets Peppol eInvoicing standards while using the stability and security of AWS to pass the stringent requirements of governments around the world. The team at Link4 are looking to double in the next six months and will no doubt add more countries to their resume as the year progresses.

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48 BRE A K T HR OUGH T ECHNOLOGIES 2024

QUANTX LABS

WORLD’S MOST ACCURATE ‘CLOCK’ QuantX Labs’ Cryoclock is the world’s most accurate ‘clock’ that delivers the most pure and stable output signal, and is now being manufactured for inclusion into the Australian Defence Forces’ Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN). This upgrade will significantly improve detection and greatly increase sensitivity of the radar network, allowing the user to see smaller objects that are further away.

QuantX Labs is actively expanding their product range beyond the Cryoclock, developing unsurpassed quantum sensing capability in underwater and underground environments – by making the water and ground transparent, contributing to both ASW and subterranean ISR activities.

Broadening their suite of precision timing, QuantX is also developing the next-generation optical atomic clock that has already demonstrated incredible reliability and precision. This state-of-the-art technology is due to be launched into Low Earth Orbit in 2026.

On a 7-hectare site, in the heart of Adelaide, Lot Fourteen is a growing innovation district shooting for the stars. The future of innovation begins here.

Be a part of it. lotfourteen.com.au