A New Year, A Clear Vision
“Time keeps on slipping, into the future…” more than just a lyric from the Steve Miller Band, it’s a reminder to pause, reflect, and reset. As we close the chapter on the past year, it’s worth taking stock of what worked, what didn’t, and what’s on the horizon for 2026.
Powering the Future: Innovating in the Critical Minerals Space
At SPARC, our mission is clear: to develop the breakthrough technologies of tomorrow, today. But innovation doesn’t happen in isolation – which is why we’re committed to collaboration and active industry engagement to accelerate progress in the critical minerals sector.
Go Green Co-Innovation Grant Success
At SPARC, we’re constantly looking to drive projects that innovate and push industry into new directions. Sometimes, these projects align with grant funding priorities or the research efforts of collaborators. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to have a project that aligns with both – the unique expertise of a collaborator and a funding opportunity from the federal government.
SPARC – Driving Innovation Every step of the Way
At SPARC, innovation isn’t just a buzzword – it’s embedded in everything we do. Each year, we gather for our strategic workshop to assess past achievements, analyse new discoveries and chart our course for the future and company growth.
Goodbye 2024: Celebrating Wins, Overcoming Challenges, and Shaping A Bright New Year
And just like that, 2024 is almost in the rearview mirror! As the year winds down it’s time to pause, reflect, and take stock. While we’re all gearing up for some well-earned holiday downtime with family and friends, there’s no better moment to look back on the highs (and the lows) of the year and get excited about what lies ahead for Harrison SPARC in 2025.
Driving Innovation: Unlocking Commercialisation Through Open Access Research
Unlocking Access to Academic Knowledge. Join us, as we explore innovative ideas transforming open access in Australia and beyond. Discover how Harrison SPARC is leading the charge to ensure that all research is within everyone’s reach. Dive into our latest issue for groundbreaking insights and be part of the movement towards a more inclusive academic landscape!
Bridging the Research Gap between Industry and Academia
Arguably, the lifeblood of a globalised, modern society. The greatest feats of the past century (the Internet, personal computers, space flight, the Human Genome project…) could not have been accomplished without innovative research efforts and collaboration. The greater the innovation and effort required, the more collaboration is a requirement for success.
Critical Minerals: What Are They?
The term ‘critical minerals’ has several loosely related definitions. An academic paper defines it as “raw materials for which there are no viable substitutes with current technologies, which most consumer countries are dependent on importing, and whose supply is dominated by one or a few producers”.
Sunset on 2023! Looking Back and Forward…
Being incorporated back in July of 2021, SPARC has strived to push and grow our innovative R&D company. This year not only did we officially commence work on our second product development line, we also received nearly $2M in federal funding to bring this technology to market.
Water Treatment into AgTech
8.07 Billion….that’s the current population of the planet, based on UN figures. It’s a staggering number, and considering that this population needs food and water to exist, in an era where rapid climate change is dramatically effecting both necessities, it’s little wonder that AgTech is a rapidly expanding industry.
SPARC Grant Success and Future Prospects
In our March newsletter, we mentioned that SPARC was submitting a grant application in the federal government’s Critical Minerals Development Program. The program is designed to fund projects which increase the supply chain of critical minerals in Australia to further boost the economy in the renewable energy sector.
SPARC Receives Critical Minerals Grant for Li Frother Development
Harrison SPARC, the R&D arm of The Harrison Group, an Australian manufacturing stalwart which helps turn the wheels of the automotive, agricultural, manufacturing, logistics and mining industries at home and globally, will receive $1.9 million from the Federal Government to value-add to Australia’s critical mineral capabilities.
SPARC at the AFR Business Summit
Two short weeks ago, the Harrison Group attended the AFR Business Summit. This year’s theme for the summit was ‘Crunch Time for Prosperity’, which couldn’t be anymore appropriate. Given the ongoing war in Ukraine, the slowing (but still prevalent) COVID-19 pandemic and rising global interest rates (and recession fears), this is a very turbulent time.
End Of The Year – Look Back & Looking Ahead
While SPARC was incorporated on July 1 of 2021, and we began work behind the scenes setting up the business structure, 2022 has seen the bulk of the business activity thus far. This past year, we’ve seen the rollout and launch of our company and office space to the wider community as well as successfully attained several milestones from our first research project.
Moonshots and SPARC
September 12th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave his famous ‘Moonshot’ speech where he gave NASA the goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. It was an ambitious goal, that set an entire national workforce into motion – one that was accomplished in less than seven years.
Climate Action – Solutions Needed
Last month, the COP26 summit in Glasgow finished, and while the politics of the summit and its results can be debated, the event put the need for climate action at the forefront of the world stage again. Arguably, one of the biggest outcomes was the push for a reduction in global carbon emissions, which led to the historic agreement to begin phasing out coal-fired power stations – one of the biggest emitting processes on the planet.
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Thought Pieces
Patents pending transparent national view
We need a complete picture of patents from across the research sector to evaluate them for commercialisation potential.
Empowering tomorrow’s solutions today
As a cutting-edge industrial research centre, we are dedicated to partnering with industry leaders and academic institutions to drive advancements in the chemical industry.
The Strategic Examination of R&D
The Strategic Examination of R&D (SERD), announced by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources in February of this year, begins with the statement: “The immense potential of Australian research is a resource we’ve been sharing freely. It’s time to harness this resource to reignite our economy.”
SPARC- Featured in Fuels & Lubes Magazine
Harrison SPARC, the dedicated research arm of the Harrison Group, has reached a significant milestone with the commercialisation of its first proprietary technology: a next-generation extreme-pressure (EP) additive designed for the metalworking fluid sector.
