Published 23-07-2020
| Article appears in August 2020 Issue

CSIRO FINDS NEW HOME AT AEROTROPOLIS

22-07-2020

The NSW Government has entered discussions with CSIRO to relocate up to 450 employees and researchers of the national science agency into a state-of-the-art research hub in the heart of the new Western Sydney Aerotropolis.

The proposed move would see the creation of a bespoke carbon-neutral facility featuring collaborative workshops and modern, flexible laboratories to support the delivery of cutting-edge science and technology from 2026.

The facility’s new home would be the Aerotropolis Advanced Manufacturing and Research Precinct, which will bring together research institutes and commercial organisations across advanced manufacturing, quantum technologies, aerospace, defence and agribusiness.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says Aerotropolis will be a new focal point for Australian innovation, research and productivity, making it the perfect home for Australia’s national science agency.

“CSIRO is a national icon and would set the tone for the Aerotropolis as an innovation hub, which will drive the creation of more than 200,000 jobs across the Western Parkland City,” she says.

CSIRO chief executive Dr Larry Marshall says the agency’s presence at Aerotropolis would support collaboration and put science and technology right at the heart of the smart city.

“The more we can put science in the hands of real problems, the better our future will be, so the collaboration and connectedness of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis is an immense opportunity for CSIRO and the future we are shaping for Australia,” Dr Marshall says.

“Aerotropolis reflects the new generation of CSIRO, agile and diverse, while building on a great 100-year legacy of innovation through collaboration. Sydney is where CSIRO invented fast WiFi and where we will invent the next innovations for our future prosperity and sustainability.”

The Aerotropolis relocation would progress CSIRO’s long-standing plans to consolidate activities and refresh its research facilities.

At the same time, the move would support the agency’s growing commitment to Western Sydney, which includes the establishment of the first CSIRO Urban Living Lab at the Sydney Science Park, a $25 million NSW Government partnership to support science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education, and a new 10-year lease agreement in the $350 million ‘Innovation Quarter’ precinct that will co-locate a team of CSIRO digital health and nutrition researchers at Westmead.

With an estimated completion date of 2026, the Aerotropolis aims to be one of Australia’s most connected cities supporting current and future residents, businesses and researchers.

The new CSIRO facility would also benefit from the $11 billion Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport rail which will service the greater Western Sydney area, and the opening of the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport in 2026.

RELATED NEWS

  1. Australia’s industries and productivity could be transformed by  ‘foundation models’, the technology underpinning the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) — and we can build sovereign capability in this technology — says a new report by Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO.  
    "...
  2. Now at full speed, Fortescue’s new electric excavator has dug a million tonnes at Fortescue’s Chichester operations in the Pilbara, WA, and the mining company says it’s a massive milestone in its decarbonisation plan.
    For the past three months, it had been running at partial capacity while the site...
  3. For the past month, the Australian Army has been part of Project Convergence, a US-led campaign of learning through persistent experimentation testing. Its mission is to develop networks, robotic and autonomous systems, air defence and strike-related systems.
    Project Convergence was designed to...