Adelaide 3D printing company hand-picked by US for nuclear submarine build

An Adelaide 3D printing company has been sensationally handpicked to be at the forefront of a manufacturing revolution, printing large-scale defence parts on US Navy ships.

A small Adelaide company has been thrust into the centre of a major manufacturing revolution in the US after it was hand-picked to provide world leading 3D printing technology.

The US Navy selected the Edinburgh-based company, AML3D, to supply a specialised 3D printing system that will revolutionise the construction of nuclear submarines.

The breakthrough is considered the first major example of how the AUKUS security pact can tear down the barriers between the Australian, US and British defence industries.

AML3D chief executive Ryan Millar said the deal showed early signs of how governments and corporate defence behemoths would look abroad to find the most innovative manufacturing solutions, providing unprecedented opportunities for small Australian businesses.

Adelaide 3D printing company AML3D has acquired the contract to supply its ARCEMY system to the US Department of Defence. CEO Ryan Millar said it demonstrated how large defence companies will look abroad for the best manufacturing technology. Picture: Keryn Stevens

While the initial purchase is worth just $1m, it will allow the ASX-listed company to establish permanent operations in the US and sell large numbers of 3D printing systems that are not available anywhere else in the world.

Mr Millar said AML3D’s technology is able to produce large-scale defence parts while being mobile and transportable, separating it from most other 3D printing companies.

“We can build a machine here in Adelaide and ship it to wherever that point of need might be. It could be deployed in Darwin to support a submarine base there, or Melbourne or it could be in Singapore or it could be in San Diego or on the east coast of the US,” Mr Millar said.

“It’s very hard to pick up a big casting or foundry business and ship it. It takes hundreds of millions of dollars to establish wherever it might be, and that’s where it will stay for 100 years.

“Our machines can be unpacked and stacked and moved very quickly to wherever they are needed.”

The Biden administration has launched a major manufacturing revolution, spearheaded by a new initiative called AM Forward, which involves both private and government investment to help small US-based suppliers increase the use of 3D printing.

US President Joe Biden is leading a major manufacturing revolution. Picture: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP

AML3D, which was trading at 8c on Monday, will be at the forefront of these efforts. While it is still early in the company’s US expansion, it shows how other Adelaide companies could reap the rewards of the AUKUS pact in various areas of defence manufacturing.

Visiting Washington last weekend, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Australian companies would be given opportunities to do business in the US and UK defence supply chains.

“What’s actually expected of us by both the US and UK is that we make a contribution to the net industrial base of the three countries by developing the capacity in Australia to build a nuclear-powered submarine,” Mr Marles said.

Defence SA boss Richard Price said the state’s established supply chains in modern shipbuilding and submarine sustainment would act as “strong foundations on which to expand” to other nations.

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