SPEE3D CTO Proposes National Resilience Test for Australia
SPEE3D's Steven Camilleri suggests a 'National Resilience Test' to measure Australia's ability to produce critical goods during supply chain disruptions.
Steven Camilleri, CTO and co-founder of cold-spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) system manufacturer SPEE3D, has proposed a framework for Australia to assess its industrial resilience. This concept, stemming from his work with the 'Make Stuff Here' initiative for Australian industrial autonomy, is detailed in a paper for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) titled “Make stuff here…or else: A framework for deciding what Australia must produce, repair or regenerate domestically.”
The core recommendation is for the Australian government to implement a 'National Resilience Test.' This test would inform a 'Sovereignty Countdown,' which quantifies the duration the nation can sustain itself with critical infrastructure and supplies during a major disruption. Camilleri emphasizes that national resilience is an engineering problem, not merely an abstract policy goal.
Camilleri's proposal outlines that every essential function, including water, energy, fuel, food logistics, and communications, operates under a specific time constraint. When this countdown expires, continuity becomes dependent on external entities, practically diminishing national sovereignty. He argues that Australia currently faces a significant lag, with policy shifts towards resilience not yet matched by physical manufacturing capabilities.
Decades of prioritizing efficiency have eroded domestic production capabilities, leaving Australia reliant on storage and logistics rather than regeneration of supply. Camilleri contends that while these methods extend operational time, they do not create new supply. In times of supply chain failure, the nation depletes finite reserves instead of maintaining steady-state operations. He advocates for this framework to complement, not replace, existing Australian resilience initiatives and stresses the necessity of public-private sector cooperation and support for workforce development.
Camilleri's 'Sovereignty Countdown' proposes a quantifiable metric for national industrial resilience, directly relevant to additive manufacturing's role in localized production and repair. This concept aligns with the broader push for supply chain security and on-demand manufacturing, particularly for critical sectors like defense and infrastructure, echoing efforts for in-situ resource utilization and production in remote or challenging environments, including potential space applications.
Edited by the news editor with AI from the original report — please refer to the original source.