Australian metal 3D printing company Aurora Labs has secured A$6 million from investors to scale up production of its additively manufactured turbojet engines for defence.
The Western Australian company designs, prints and assembles turbojet propulsion systems for defence and unmanned platforms. It trades on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the code A3D. The money comes through a two-tranche placement at A$0.055 per share. The A$6 million total is before costs. Institutional, sophisticated and professional investors have made firm commitments. Non-executive chairman David Trimboli is putting in A$550,000 himself, subject to shareholder approval.
A Strategic Investor
The raise also brings in Walkinshaw Group Holdings as a significant strategic investor. Walkinshaw is part of an Australian-headquartered engineering group. The group is known for design, engineering, commercialisation and contract manufacturing.
The stake opens a pathway for talks about Walkinshaw supporting Aurora’s production scale-up, given the group’s experience in growing manufacturing. The link could also run the other way. Aurora may help Walkinshaw with metal additive production, drawing on its own knowledge of the technology.
A Year of Progress
The placement follows a busy stretch for Aurora. The company earned AS9100D aerospace quality certification and began commercial deliveries of its AU4 propulsion system. It also received A$1 million in Defence Industry Development Grant funding.
On top of that, Aurora signed a teaming agreement with global defence company MBDA. Most recently, it secured its first propulsion system order from the United States. That deal marks its first commercial entry into the US aerospace and defence market.
“With an established manufacturing facility, proprietary propulsion technology and an expanding international commercial footprint, Aurora is increasingly well positioned to capitalise on demand for sovereign propulsion capabilities,” Trimboli said. “Our focus is now firmly on converting this progress into increased production volumes, additional customer contracts and sustainable commercial growth.”
From Development to Production
Most of the money goes into manufacturing. Aurora will expand its existing production lines for higher-volume turbojet engine output. It will also buy additional metal additive manufacturing equipment. Further funds go to finalising production data packs and to the systems, processes and people needed for full-rate production.
The remainder pays for business development across defence and aerospace markets and for intellectual property protection. It also covers keeping the AS9100D certification in place. Aurora’s longer-term aim is a scalable, vertically integrated manufacturing platform that supplies propulsion systems to defence and aerospace customers in Australia and abroad.
Source: Aurora Labs
