Photonics industry a bright light for the future in ANZ Optical Society report
When it comes to making money from the science of light, SA is already punching well above its weight – our photonics output is second only to that of Victoria on a per capita basis.
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Photonics is a hi-tech, fast-growth yet little-known sector contributing $4.3bn to the Australian economy, as much as the farmgate production of the dairy industry, a new report shows.
And South Australia is “punching above its weight” with the nation’s second strongest photonics output per capita.
The Australian and New Zealand Optical Society will release the report: Photonics in Australia & New Zealand: Lighting Economic Growth on Tuesday July 28.
President Dr John Harvey said the society wants to draw attention to the industry.
“There’s a huge opportunity for growth in the photonics industry in Australia,” he said. “It’s not just something that could happen, it’s already here and has tremendous potential for growth.”
Products that rely on photonics – the science of using light for sensing, manufacturing, information transmission and biomedicine – includes smartphones, computers, fibre-optic communication systems, laser engraving and cutting machines, drones and medical devices.
“The smooth functioning of society depends on photonics, but most people have never heard the word, even though it is increasingly replacing electronics in all sorts of situations,” Dr Harvey said.
The report reveals there is 465 Australian companies in the photonics industry, employing 9540 people in hi-tech, high-productivity output jobs.
SA is responsible for $412m in photonics output, with 1174 employees in 51 organisations. The gross value add is $117,500/employee, which is just under national average for the industry.
The report’s co-author, Dr Simon Poole, was part of a team at Finisar Australia that won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in 2018. He said photonics activity in SA is second only to Victoria, which has the Telstra headquarters and key suppliers.
SA is strong in defence and medical photonics with large companies such as Ellex based here, making lasers and other instruments for ophthalmology.
Adelaide-based company CryoClock offers high-performance time and frequency systems that generate, synthesise and disseminate the purest radiofrequency and microwave signals available on the market.
Co-founder and managing director Professor Andre Luiten is thrilled to be taking premises on Lot Fourteen soon. “We’ve absolutely hit on a winner, so we’re very excited,” the Adelaide uni professor said. “It’s great to be able to employ young people in high paying jobs that really require smarts.”
As director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing, he’s also “spawning a whole lot of technology” and spinning out more start-up companies every year.
