A new edition of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) will be available from August. [ + ]

Sydney has a brand new nanoscience centre, which is being heralded as one of the most controlled places on the planet. The $150 million Sydney Nanosicence Hub (SNH), located at the University of Sydney, will focus on a range of nanoscience areas, including the development of nanobatteries for renewable energy storage. [ + ]

Leading independent vehicle safety advocate the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has released safety ratings for several commercial van and people-mover models. [ + ]

Schneider Electric has selected 100 teams for the semifinals of its sixth annual Go Green in the City student competition. Launched in 2011, the competition provides business and engineering students (second-year undergraduate or higher) with a powerful opportunity to showcase innovative energy management ideas for smarter cities. [ + ]

Westpac and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) are working together to provide Australian businesses with an easier way to take control of their energy costs, using low-cost finance to support investment in solar, energy-efficient technologies and low-emissions vehicles. [ + ]

The increasing lean towards electrification and hybridisation of commercial vehicles is creating demand for sustainable and cost-efficient technologies. Finland's Electric Commercial Vehicles (ECV) project, coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre, brings together business, research institutes and universities to create products and markets across the entire value chain — from components to systems. [ + ]

Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is asking owners and occupiers of residential dwellings to consider higher levels of protection than the law requires with respect to smoke alarms. [ + ]

A sheep's head or a curious cat could have been one of the reasons behind your power outage last year. [ + ]

Google is making progress in its quest to lead the driverless vehicle charge, with plans to add 100 vehicles to its fleet in the next 12 months. [ + ]

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says that the latest announcement regarding increased resources to end systemic wage fraud from the Turnbull government is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. [ + ]

Toyota has announced the end of the road for the FJ Cruiser, the retro-inspired, rugged off-roader that was launched in Australia in 2011. [ + ]

Google continues its quest for world domination, demonstrating a new virtual assistant hardware device — Home — which will hit the market later this year. The presentation was delivered by vice president of product management Mario Queiroz at the annual developers conference in Silicon Valley earlier this week. [ + ]

Nissan has confirmed it will acquire 34% of Mitsubishi in a deal worth just under AU$3 billion, making it the maker's single largest shareholder. The deal is still subject to shareholder approval, but will provide Nissan with control over the company if it goes through after a formalisation of the alliance on 25 May. [ + ]

Owners of Nissan Navara D40s should be aware that vehicles featuring a set of Performance Suspension front extended ball joints may have a serious defect. In some circumstances the ball joints will fail, causing potential separation of ball joint components. If this occurs while the vehicle in use, it may cause the suspension system to fail entirely, causing serious injury or death. [ + ]

The deadline for compulsory use of SuperStream is looming, so employers need to ensure they are ready. If you have 19 or fewer employees, you need to be using SuperStream by 30 June 2016. All other employers should already be using the SuperStream standard. [ + ]