Australia is investing in Industry 4.0 to scale up tech contributions across multiple sectors, from renewables and agtech to advanced materials and automation.

The roadmap for the advanced manufacturing sector has 4 pillars of strategies with 6 top priorities set out:

1. getting the economic conditions right for business
2. making science and technlogy work for industry
3. focusing on areas of advance, and
4. building national resilence for a straong economy

Priority areas include

• resources technology and critical minerals processing
• food and beverage
• medical products
• recycling and clean energy
• defence
• space

Agtech is predicted to become Australia’s next A$100 billion industry by 2030. NSW is at the forefront of using technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence big data and the Internet of Things to increase agricultural productivity.

Some examples include agricultural drones, satellite photography and sensors, IoT-based sensor networks, phase tracking, weather forecasting, automated irrigation, light and heat control and intelligent software analysis for pest and disease prediction, soil management and other involved analytical tasks.

Current agtech investment opportunities in Sydney include:

• Developing a cold supply chain. The construction of Western Sydney Airport and a supporting agricultural precinct presents the opportunity to develop an integrated cold supply chain network across NSW. A new supply chain could unlock value in the agricultural sector across the state and increase fresh produce exports to the Asia Pacific region.
• Agtech leadership. Agtech has the potential to be a leading source of technological manufacturing. The opportunity exists to export high tech products to a global market in need of innovative solutions to meet exploding demand for food. Australia’s high-tech exports rose by US$1.44 billion between 2009 to 2014, or 44.3%. In the same period, high-tech as a percentage of manufactured exports rose from 11.9% to 13.6%.

NSW is home to clean technology businesses and research institutions that are leading the country in reducing energy consumption, producing clean energy and tackling environmental challenges.

The sector is aiming to secure high-value patents and commercialising technologies in clean manufacturing, water management, energy efficiency, the built environment and renewable energy sources (wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and hydropower).

International investors play an integral role in the development of large-scale renewable energy projects with many considering it a compelling investment proposition. Investments and commercialisation of innovations in agriculture, cleantech innovation, energy generation and storage, hydrogen, infrastructure, property, transport and waste are expected to accelerate Australia’s transition to net zero emissions by 2050.

Global spending on cyber security is expected to almost double from around US$126 billion in 2016 to US$251 billion by 2026. The Australian cyber security market was valued at US$4.3 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to US$5.8 billion by 2024. The local cyber market is growing at over 9% annually.

Australian businesses can tap into the growing need for cyber security products and services by taking advantage of the industry growth and reducing exposure to cyber threats.

The Australian government released Australia’s cyber security strategy to secure our prosperity in a connected world. The Australian government has identified cyber security as one of the six industry sectors considered vital for the long-term prospects of the Australian economy. Locally, there is strong demand for cyber security services as many public and private companies lack the internal expertise to adequately and comprehensively secure their IT assets. This trend will grow over the next decade as companies will place an even greater reliance on outsourced security vendors to provide digital security solutions on their behalf.

For regional industries to flourish, the NSW government is focused on many aspects of their regional economic strategy including migration and foreign investments. In the face of covid, this has become critical as skilled workers are demanded by regional businesses that are now looking to rely majorly on tech advancements and lean business models.

Agribusinesses are just one of the many entities developing partnerships with research institutes to develop innovations that include planting, fertilising, feeding, monitoring, pest control, harvesting and monitoring livestock movements. NSW encourages funding and capital investments into primary industries and their supply chains to improve their processes using tech innovation. In recent times primary industries have been particularly impacted by floods, droughts and bushfires. The department of primary industries welcomes requests for collaboration opportunities from Australian and international businesses.

Australia has a recycling and waste management problem, generating more waste than the average Western economy. A small percentage of our waste is converted to energy however it is stated that Australia also lags behind the rest of the developed world in the uptake of waste to energy technology.

Up until recently, Australia sent much of its waste overseas as a cheaper alternative to local recycling, with China a major destination for this waste. China’s ban from January 2018 on the import of various types of solid waste meant thousands of tonnes of recyclables had nowhere to go which has led to more waste going to landfills.

The recent focus on creating circular economies, modern manufacturing strategies, waste to energy technologies and a national framework for waste and resource recovery in Australia means targets, actions, funding and clearer allocations of responsibilities have been set out to solve the current problem in this space.