SPACE TANK
ABOUT - your business makerspace
Space Tank's vision is to give Australian-made a new heart beat. We support manufacturing and hardware startups from the ground up. We experience first-hand how hungry our makers are to turn their skills into successful businesses. How desperate our young innovators are to turn their big ideas into frontier companies. This might be you. We know that many of you operate outside formal institutions and lie below funding thresholds. We know the barriers you face as a startup or emerging designer. Space Tank's function is to lower those barriers and help you get from bench to business fast. This is your space.
Find out how we support you, our history and achievements and what makes us tick. Browse our News and Member's Gallery.
If you want to be involved in Space Tank's expansion, check out the Startup Factory.
What we love doing
Space Tank focuses on supporting grassroots manufacturing and hardware startups. We love makers, product design and creativity. We love innovation. Above all, we love pursuing sustainable manufacturing to help our society achieve a sustainable future. We can fit up to 28 fulltime businesses under our roof with room to spare for casual daily members. We leverage economies of scale across our equipment and operations, to maximise the use of industrial resources while minimising our carbon footprint and waste.
We love creating the conditions for your success by merging incubator, makerspace, studio tenancy and co-working fabrication areas to facilitate a diverse range of prototyping and manufacturing activities.​ We provide mentoring and resources to help you succeed domestically and abroad.
...creating conditions for success
Awards
 2023 Supporting Australian manufacturing startups |  2021 Safety Solution of the Year - Rapid Shield |  2021 Product Design - Health Forge Mobile Patient Isolation Unit |
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 2020 Medical & Scientific Product Design - Rapid Shield |  2020 Design Award - Rapid Shield |  2018 Raising Melbourne’s International Profile |
 2018 Most Innovative Manufacturing Company |  2018 VIC Minister for Innovation Honour of Achievement |  2017 Best Public Installation - Melbourne Progress Event |
 2017 Outstanding Enterprise & Innovation |  2016 Nominated Gold Standard Makerspace |  2015 For dedicated services to Australia's Makers of Tomorrow |
History
Space Tank was founded in Coburg North in 2013 as a business makerspace providing affordable access to manufacturing machinery, private studios and skills training. Space Tank has always served a diverse range of makers and innovators from creative manufacturers working in fields such as furniture making and jewellery to product designers and inventors. Investment into prototyping technologies like 3D printing, laser cutting and design software attracted startups who were building technology enabled physical products like medical devices, robotic 3D printers, 3D printed titanium bicycles, electric vehicles and rocket propulsion systems.
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To meet demand, the makerspace expanded to 1,500 square metres of factory space and business mentoring services were added. Refining its market fit, Space Tank adopted a For-Profit Social Enterprise model to better convey its service to the business community and the term hardware startup was adopted to transcend old fashioned notions of manufacturing and focus on young product innovators who utilise new technologies.
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Since 2013, we have supported over 1,000 businesses and cultivated a network with over 6000 manufactures, designers, entrepreneurs, investors, educational leaders and industry professionals. Space Tank receives strong industry support from equipment suppliers and peak industry bodies. Since inception, we have worked closely with governments and collaborated with industry and universities. We continue to participate in economic and industry workshops, host technology events and deliver key note presentations to ensure manufacturing and applied technology startups get the recognition and support they deserve within our predominantly app-centric startup ecosystem.
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Leveraging ten years of experience in supporting grassroots manufacturing innovation and in conjunction with the Victorian State Government, Space Tank's Startup Factory program will grow entrepreneur communities at the Fishermans Bend innovation precinct.
