A research agreement between Siemens, Queensland University of Technology and the Australian Government's Defence Science and Technology group has produced prototype high-temperature superconductors. [ + ]

The revision of the Australian and New Zealand wiring rules for electrical installations is now open for public comment. [ + ]

Last November's building industry forecasts were not optimistic, projecting a $2–4 billion downswing over the next three years. Times have changed, it seems, with the upcoming Australian Construction Industry Forum's forecasts painting a more buoyant picture. [ + ]

Improvements in energy storage are happening quickly and threatening to disrupt existing business models and entire sectors. Consider the new Model Tesla 3 electric car — over 200,000 were ordered within 24 hours of its release. [ + ]

Tasmania's energy woes may be alleviated shortly, thanks to a new contract for supply of three clean-burning dual fuel gas turbines. [ + ]

Plans are underway to develop a new ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standard for consumer warranties, providing guidelines for development of clear and effective warranty statements. It hopes to improve purchaser, retailer and manufacturer confidence and smooth the way for better trade. [ + ]

The CSIRO is furthering its environmental credentials with the rollout of a green fleet. The first two of 10 petrol-free electric cars and electric bikes has been delivered to the Discover Centre at Black Mountain in Canberra. [ + ]

Tytec Recycling (TR) has announced a soon-to-be launched solution that addresses the efficient disposal of worn off-the-road (OTR) tyres as used in mining and agriculture. Tyre recycling has always been a difficult and time-consuming task for standard tyres and near-impossible for OTR varieties. [ + ]

The NSW Government’s recent appointment of external fleet providers will deliver $1 billion in taxpayer savings, according to claims. [ + ]

Luxoft has announced the acquisition of automotive software developer Symtavision. The acquisition expands Luxoft's embedded software automotive offerings as the company seeks to fulfil its targeted end-to-end offering. [ + ]

Truck platooning trials in Europe have been successful, ending with the arrival of six convoys at Rotterdam Harbour in the Netherlands. The cross-border trials are the first of their kind, with the semiautomatic vehicles travelling in pairs from Germany and Sweden. [ + ]

Prysmian says it has begun rolling out Australia's highest fibre count cable to date for TPG in Melbourne. [ + ]

Public safety provider Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure is set to utilise map and traffic data from TomTom as part of the company's public safety solution offering in Asia–Pacific. [ + ]

A four-year energy storage trial, which has begun for an entire suburb in Western Australia, could change energy infrastructure design in future urban developments. [ + ]

Among all the talk of 'smart cities', how are cities actually using available cellular technology to enable this intelligence? Find out by sitting in on a Digi International-hosted webinar Thursday, 21 April. [ + ]