South Australia’s innovative manufacturing sector

Developing sovereign capability in the defence and space sectors is a matter of national priority. In recognition of our existing research and industry strengths, South Australia has attracted significant Commonwealth and private investment to bolster the state’s advanced manufacturing workforce and capabilities as it relates to defence and space technologies.

South Australia is a global leader in renewable energy production and adoption. Our state is exploring ways to exploit this early advantage to its full potential – investing in a green hydrogen sector and pursuing low-carbon energy intensive manufacturing in sectors such as iron, copper, cement, critical minerals, and fuels.

As the world transitions to low-carbon technologies, large amounts of critical minerals such as copper graphite and cobalt will be required. South Australia holds more than 69 per cent of Australia’s known copper and graphite resources and is highly prospective for cobalt.

Food and beverage manufacturing, machinery and equipment account for nearly half of all South Australian manufacturing activity, and roughly 3 per cent of the state’s economy.

South Australia is also Australia’s indisputable wine state, producing half of Australia’s bottled wine and about 80 per cent of premium wine, with nearly a billion bottles of South Australian wine on tables and in cellars around the world.

South Australia’s south-east generates a third of the nation’s house framing and interior sawn wood, and a quarter of particleboard. Approximately 40 per cent of timber leaving the region is unprocessed, meaning there’s huge opportunity to value-add by generating new structural timber products, creating new wood products to replace plastic and developing new biofuels and biochemicals.

Concrete, steel and aluminium are responsible for 23 per cent of global emissions – making the building and construction sector ripe for green industrial transformation. South Australian businesses are trialling innovative new building materials such as fibre and cement composites to support a more circular economy.

A by-product of the state’s globally competitive health and medical research institutes, South Australia is a hive of health-related advanced manufacturing – including the production of medicines, vaccines (including mRNA vaccines and therapies) and medical devices.