According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the manufacturing industry will need to undertake a major structural shift in the face of emerging technology, climate change and geopolitical tensions that will be driven by economies of skill where global collaborations will be critical to fortifying value chains amidst ongoing disruptions. 

The WEF White Paper, From Disruption to Opportunity: Strategies for Rewiring Global Value Chains, underscores the imperative for manufacturers to bridge the gap between strategic intent and operational delivery. However, it acknowledges the formidable challenges posed by the scale and complexity of necessary transformations, compounded by geopolitical, climatic, and technological disruptions.

These views are echoed by Dr Mohammad Choucair, CEO of Archer Materials (ASX: AXE) who are a core community member of WEF. 

“Embracing the reality that you can’t do everything yourself is crucial, necessitating a re-evaluation of your business models and their integration with the supply chain,” said Dr Choucair. 

“This realisation brings to the forefront the meticulous yet essential task of partner selection, ensuring that all parts of the chain work in harmony. The global supply chain, with its diverse constituents, must operate seamlessly, despite the understanding that perfection is unattainable.” 

The overarching recommendations by WEF suggest an industry perspective to transition from “doing” digital to “being” digital and focusing on innovative sustainability over regulatory compliance. 

A flow on effect of this attitudinal shift would transition the manufacturing industry from being cost-driven to being customer value-driven which would ultimately foster fresh innovation. 

This is an approach that Archer has already been undertaking for the manufacturing of its innovative biochip. Rather than building their own semiconductor manufacturing facility, which would require substantial capital and operational expenses, Archer has undertaken a fabless strategy by partnering with large foundries around the world. 

In July 2023, Archer commenced discussions with several renowned foundries for its graphene biochip (lab-on-a-chip), circuit designs which were later validated by their Dutch foundry partner in September 2023, and more complex iterations of the chip confirmed by a German foundry partner two months later and again in Spain. 

The use of multiple foundries for the test manufacturing runs enable Archer to determine which works best with its graphene technology. 

Archer Materials’ inclusion in the WEF report reaffirms its position as a trailblazer in advanced semiconductor development where Archer also has its flagship 12CQ quantum chip in development – an electronic device that aims to facilitate quantum technologies onboard mobile devices.

While Archer’s 12CQ chip is not at the same manufacturing stage as their biochip, quantum technologies are set to play a major role in the future of Australia’s tech industry after the Federal Government and Queensland Government jointly announced it will invest almost A$1 billion to build a ‘utility-scale fault tolerant quantum computer’ in Brisbane, Australia. 

For the quarter ended 31 March 2024, Archer reported net operating cash outflow of A$1.4m which was attributed to its research and development. The Company is well capitalised with A$20 million of cash on hand.