News In Brief

Welcome to our ‘News In Brief’ column in which we digest all the news releases for you in no more than five paragraphs.
Below are snippets of all the media releases we received from Nov 17 till the end of the week.
This article updates throughout the week.

Gold Rating for UniSuper

Sydney, Nov 21: UniSuper’s seven pre-mixed investment options have all received a gold rating from global research house Morningstar, its highest available rating. The options – Conservative, Conservative Balanced, Balanced, Sustainable Balanced, Growth, High Growth and Sustainable High Growth – add to UniSuper’s existing “highly recommended” ratings from Lonsec and Chant West.
UniSuper CEO Peter Chun said Morningstar’s gold rating is an acknowledgement of the fund’s in-house investment expertise. “Ratings like this underscore not only the expertise and capability of our in-house investment team, led by Chief Investment Officer John Pearce, but value to members with a record of strong long-term returns* and competitive fees,” Mr Chun said. “It’s an honour to receive this rating from Morningstar. Our Investments team continues to work hard every day to identify quality investment opportunities for our members.”
UniSuper manages over 70 per cent of funds in house across listed and unlisted asset classes in Australia and overseas, and also offers sector investment options in single asset classes to give members additional flexibility and choice.

Korean Air, Samsung Join Forces

Seoul, Nov 21: Korean Air has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Samsung E&A to develop a U.S.-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and supply chain, reinforcing both companies’ push toward cleaner aviation energy. The agreement, signed on November 20 at Korean Air’s Seoul headquarters by Vice Chairman Keehong Woo and Samsung E&A President & CEO Namkoong Hong, will see the partners identify and evaluate overseas SAF projects, review long-term offtake opportunities, explore SAF-related investments, and collaborate through Samsung E&A’s “SAF Technology Alliance.”
The United States has been selected as the first target market due to its feedstock availability, technology and infrastructure. Samsung E&A is reviewing participation in a U.S. project that will use gasification–Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology to convert woody waste into synthetic fuel, widening feedstock options beyond first-generation SAF. Korean Air is considering joining as an offtaker, a role seen as crucial for stabilising new energy projects.
The partnership supports Korea’s national “ABCDEF” strategy across AI, Bio, Culture, Defense, Energy and Factory, positioning the two firms at key points in the emerging energy value chain. A Korean Air representative said, “This partnership will further contribute to the aviation industry’s Net Zero 2050 goal and enhance our ability to effectively navigate evolving global environmental regulations, including SAF mandates. Through proactive project participation and continuous cooperation, we aim to accelerate global SAF adoption and advance our commitment to sustainable aviation and ESG management.”
Korean Air has led SAF use in Korea since 2017, when it first operated a SAF-blended flight on the Chicago–Incheon route. In 2024, it began using domestically produced SAF for select flights from Incheon and later expanded to Gimpo International Airport, further strengthening Korea’s SAF ecosystem.

Adobe Adds Gemini

Sydney, Nov 12: Adobe has integrated Google’s latest image model, Gemini 3 (Nano Banana Pro), into Adobe Firefly and Photoshop, expanding the range of creative AI tools available inside its apps. The move is part of Adobe’s commitment to be “the best place to help you realize your creative vision by bringing the industry’s top models, including our recently announced Firefly Image Model 5, into our apps as soon as they launch.”
Gemini 3 (Nano Banana Pro) now powers Generative Fill in Photoshop and is available in Firefly’s Text to Image and Firefly Boards features, joining partner models from Black Forest Labs, ElevenLabs, Google, Ideogram, Luma AI, Moonvalley, OpenAI, Pika, Runway and Topaz Labs. Adobe says the model delivers “significant improvements in editing quality, allowing you to use text prompts to refine specific parts of an image, adjust aspect ratios, boost resolution, and even shift camera angles and lighting. It also excels at generating clean, well-integrated text inside images and can localize visuals with translated text. And by drawing on Google Search’s knowledge base, the model can generate factually accurate visuals. Its pro-grade capabilities make it a great complementary model in our creative apps.”
To encourage experimentation, Adobe is offering “unlimited image generations with Firefly image models and partner models in the Firefly app until December 1 (available to Creative Cloud Pro and Firefly plan subscribers).” The company says the goal is to spare users from “chasing new model releases on your own, juggling disconnected tools, or paying for multiple subscriptions. Everything you need is already right inside the Adobe apps where you do your best creative work.”

TransTRACK Expands in Qatar

Doha. Nov 21: TransTRACK has expanded its presence in the Middle East by showcasing its integrated maritime technologies at the Marine & Offshore Qatar International Expo & Conference 2025 in Doha.
The Indonesian tech company, which focuses on IoT- and AI-powered fleet optimisation, received an official visit from representatives of the Indonesian Embassy in Qatar as a show of support.
The annual expo, held at the Sheraton Grand Doha, brought together global maritime and offshore stakeholders, with digitalisation and operational efficiency topping this year’s agenda. TransTRACK highlighted solutions including its Vessel Monitoring System, Bunker Monitoring System, Cargo Tank Monitoring System, and port surveillance technologies.
Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Ridwan Hassan praised the company’s internationally competitive capabilities, while TransTRACK CEO Anggia Meisesari said the company aims to support Qatar’s digital transformation in line with its QNV2030 and NDS3 goals. CTO Aris Pujud Kurniawan added that the company’s IoT- and AI-driven systems have boosted fleet productivity and cut costs for partners worldwide.
As Qatar continues investing heavily in maritime digitalisation, TransTRACK’s participation underscores its ambitions to grow its network, support offshore operations, and strengthen Indonesia’s profile in global maritime tech.

Carbon280 Seeks Hydrogen Funds

Sydney, Nov 26: Carbon280 has launched a seed funding round to accelerate the commercialisation of its Hydrilyte® technology, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with natural hydrogen explorer H2EX. The Perth-based materials-engineering company recently presented Hydrilyte® at the Australian Natural Hydrogen Conference, where mixed-gas tests confirmed the system can separate hydrogen from helium and other gases and store the hydrogen for transport in a single, integrated step.
Hydrilyte® suspends a metal-hydride powder in mineral oil, allowing hydrogen to be captured, stored and transported at ambient temperature as a stable bulk solid, tackling one of the biggest challenges in the fast-emerging natural hydrogen sector: moving hydrogen safely and cheaply from wellhead to end user. Growing interest in natural hydrogen, coupled with global drilling campaigns and forecasts of vast untapped resources, is driving demand for low-carbon, scalable infrastructure.
“One of the biggest bottlenecks for natural hydrogen is how to separate, transport and store it safely,” said Mark Hanna, Founder and CEO of H2EX. “As H2EX progresses from exploration to production, we need a solution that can efficiently separate hydrogen from other gases and deliver it to customers. That’s why Hydrilyte® is so important. It brings separation and logistics together in a single, elegant step.”
“Natural hydrogen developers are targeting production costs of US$1–2/kg,” said Mark Rheinlander, Founder and CEO of Carbon280. “Our goal is to keep separation, storage and release under US$1/kg at scale. When you combine natural hydrogen’s cost advantage with Hydrilyte’s® simplicity and safety, you have a pathway to hydrogen that is globally competitive, low-carbon and ready for real-world industrial use.”

AI Reshapes Public Services

Sydney, Nov 26: Australia’s digital public service performance has stalled, according to Adobe’s latest Digital Government Index (DGI), which shows key service delivery metrics have remained largely unchanged for three years despite rising citizen expectations and the rapid adoption of AI-driven search tools. The report warns that many government agency websites are not yet optimised for the AI era, risking lower visibility in AI-generated responses and making it harder for citizens to find trusted, official information.
The 2025 Index places Australia second globally with a national score of 69.4, behind the UK, though progress has plateaued since initial gains in 2022–23. Site Performance recorded the strongest improvement, followed by Digital Self-service, while Customer Experience has seen little movement since 2022. NSW remains the top-performing state, with ACT and Tasmania close behind, while Queensland recorded the fastest growth.
Five of eight states lifted their scores this year, with NSW’s sustained lead attributed to long-term investment in accessibility and inclusive digital services. “Our Digital Strategy rollout has just entered its second year, and I’m proud of the strong progress we’re making which is reflected in NSW’s ranking in Adobe’s Digital Government Index,” said Jihad Dib, Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, NSW Government. “We continue to focus on making our digital services inclusive and easy to use, because improving access means we are enabling everyone in NSW to reach their full potential.”
A complementary AI readiness assessment shows agencies score between 51.1 and 73.1, with an average of 61.7, revealing significant variation in preparedness for AI-driven citizen behaviour. While many agencies have solid digital foundations, the report notes that low AI visibility means official information may not reliably surface in AI-generated answers. Services Australia is among those taking steps to close this gap. “We’re working to ensure our public-facing resources and digital presence, like our websites, are optimised for easier AI consumption…Our content governance processes will help ensure customers using AI tools are presented with information about Australian payments and services that is up to date, reliable and relevant.”
Adobe warns that continued investment and long-term digital capability building will be critical as governments adapt to increasingly intelligent information ecosystems.

UniSuper Secures Top Honours

Sydney, Nov 28: UniSuper has received multiple accolades at the 2025 SuperRatings Super Fund of the Year Awards, taking out Retirement Offering of the Year for the second consecutive year, as well as Best Digital Offering and Choice Insurance Offering.
The recognition comes as 2.5 million Australians are expected to retire over the next decade, with increasing attention on how super funds support members in the decumulation phase and beyond. UniSuper CEO Peter Chun said it was a proud night for the fund, which won more awards than any other super fund.
He said: “We’re incredibly pleased to be awarded the Retirement Offering of the Year, Best Digital Offering and Choice Insurance Offering awards by SuperRatings,” adding that the awards reflect UniSuper’s vision “to be a leader in retirement through personalisation.”
Chun highlighted UniSuper’s app and recent digital enhancements, including improved online tools and resources, the launch of a Digital Financial Adviser and the rollout of passkeys, which he said will support the fund’s ambition to be “the Netflix of retirement” and deliver more personalised retirement journeys.
SuperRatings, Australia’s longest-running superannuation research and ratings firm, said the awards recognise leading performance and innovation across the sector. UniSuper has also recently been named Chant West’s 2025 Super Fund of the Year, winning its Best Fund: Insurance and Best Fund: Responsible Investment titles, as well as Canstar’s Most Satisfied Customers Super Fund for 2025, and holds a Morningstar gold rating for seven of its pre-mixed investment options.