CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
26 March 2013
Company News
Autodesk Launches Clean Tech Partner Program in Australia and New Zealand
Autodesk, Inc. has expanded its popular Clean Tech Partner Program to include Australia and New Zealand. This marks the fifth time the company has grown the program, which is also run in North America, Europe, Israel, Japan and Singapore. The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program provides Digital Prototyping software and support to emerging clean technology companies, with the goal of accelerating innovation that addresses some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
The program is being launched in conjunction with the third annual Australian Clean Technologies Competition, of which Autodesk is a principal sponsor. The competition seeks out Australia's top high-tech, high-skill companies in the clean technology sector and provides them with mentoring and business development opportunities. Many of its participants will be among the first Australian companies to access Autodesk’s software and support through the newly launched program.
Autodesk has selected Australia as the latest site for its Clean Tech Partner Program based on the country’s business innovation, established position in clean technology and high level of skills in the sector. This is reflected in the fact that one quarter of Australian manufacturing revenues in 2011 were derived from clean technology, according to the Australian Clean Tech Review for 2012.
“Australia maintains a strong culture for appropriate risk taking, whether in sport, resource exploration or product development. This trait, combined with its strength in world-class engineering talent and stable economic and legal structures, makes it a prized location for clean technology prototypes. However, many prototypes do not see the light of day due to local market size constraints and the tyranny of distance to other markets. Digital prototyping offers a highly attractive approach to exploring paths to market,” stated Dr. Marc Newson, clean technologies supplier advocate.
Lynelle Cameron, senior director of sustainability and philanthropy at Autodesk added: “Autodesk software gives designers and engineers an unprecedented ability to understand the consequences and impact of their design decisions on the world. Through the Clean Tech Partner Program we can help ensure that the most creative entrepreneurs in Australia and New Zealand have access to powerful design tools that can speed up the development of important clean technologies and reduce their time to market.”
Canberra-based Nexus eWater is the program’s first partner in Australia. The company has developed a pioneering on-site water and energy recycler for domestic installations. This unique product harnesses the power of grey water, combining two breakthrough low-cost technologies: the Nexus reHeater, a quiet, ultra-efficient water heater which can reduce typical water heating costs by up to 75%, and the Nexus reCycler, a water conservation product that can reduce combined residential water and wastewater volumes by 50% and produce clean reusable water for irrigation and toilet flushing at a cost lower than tap water.
Autodesk software helped the company significantly reduce its development time. Andrew Hermann, engineer and founding director at Nexus eWater explains, "Autodesk Inventor helped us fast track the development process. We were able to predict the performance of prototypes within minutes without having to spend weeks in the workshop building physical components."
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