AIR Hub welcomes Victorian Government focus on advanced air mobility

Swinburne University of Technology welcomes the Victorian Government’s focus on advanced air mobility (AAM) and its enormous potential to drive local jobs and reduce emissions.

AAM has the potential to increase Victoria’s gross state product by $2.8 billion over the next 20 years and create 1,300 jobs annually, while having a number of positive environmental and social impacts on communities across the state.

The Aerostructures Innovation Research Hub (AIR Hub) at Swinburne University of Technology is one of the largest and most active aerospace research collaborations in Australia, committed to advancing this important sector and realising the benefits for the community and industry in Victoria.

Supported by $12 million in funding from the Victorian Government’s Higher Education State Investment Fund, the AIR Hub is driving innovation in aerostructures, including in civil, cargo, defence and aeromedical airliners, urban electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and advanced composite materials for the space and satellite industries.

By bringing together industry and research, the AIR Hub is developing the next generation of aerostructures in Australia, with access to advanced facilities like the Swinburne-CSIRO National Industry 4.0 Testlab in Clayton, Swinburne’s Factory of the Future and advanced manufacturing technology like the Markforged FX20 3D printer.

The AIR Hub is partnering widely across the research, industry and government to turbocharge growth in the sector, including with Ieading US research institute National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University, ANSTO, and aerospace leaders such as Boeing, Quickstep, Shoal and many others.

The AIR Hub is working on a number of innovative industry-engaged projects helping Australia companies lead the way in driving the future of clean, green aviation. These include:

• The Small Hydrogen Aircraft Development & Evolution (SHADE) program – creating a hydrogen/electric powered uncrewed air system as a base for innovative advanced air mobility projects.
• Hydrogen to the Skies (H22S) program - working with Australian partners to help spearhead the commercial development of clean, zero emissions uncrewed air systems, projected to be a critical turning point for advanced air mobility in regional Australia.
• Supporting the creation of a zero-emissions aviation technology through our first Founder In Residence program with Rachael Barritt from Dovetail Electric Aviation.
• The AIR Pass program - providing up to $150,000 prototype support for Australian startups and SMEs to address the critical gap in prototype funding in Australia and fast-track aerospace innovations.
• Creating lightweight composite material aerostructures using state-of-the-art materials and advanced manufacturing techniques that can have an impact across space and aerospace

Director of the AIR Hub, Dr Adriano Di Pietro, says: “We are supporting the Australian aerospace industry with critical and relevant expertise for advanced development, from product idea to production and qualification.

“Our projects are all applied and focused on demonstration, qualification or prototyping. We welcome industry collaboration and are focused on seeing Australian smarts on mission to realise AAM and the future of aerospace here in Australia.”