$30m grants program to support local manufacturing

The federal government is supporting Australia’s manufacturers to turn their good ideas into world-beating realities that create more local jobs, with a new $30 million fund.

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the Commercialisation Fund will foster projects that bring industry and researchers together to commercialise new manufacturing products and processes.

“Making science and technology work for industry is one of the central pillars of our Government’s $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy and this fund is just one of the ways we’re delivering on that,” Minister Andrews said.

“The Morrison Government is positioning Australia’s manufacturing industry at the cutting edge of innovation and this fund will help bring together the best of research and manufacturing capability to generate commercial outcomes.

“We know that by making our manufacturers more competitive and helping them to take on the world, we will create jobs for Australians – both for the COVID-19 recovery and for generations to come.”

Consistent with all programs under the Modern Manufacturing Strategy, this fund will support projects within the Government’s six National Manufacturing Priorities.

These priorities are: Medical Products, Food and Beverage, Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing, Recycling and Clean Energy, Defence, and Space.

Commercialisation Fund grants will be between $100,000 and $1 million and must be matched by industry. These smaller-sized grants will complement the larger projects that will be supported through the $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

AMGC Managing Director Dr Jens Goennemann said that the AMGC Commercialisation Fund had been established with the express intention of commercialising and transitioning new manufacturing products and processes.

“For the past five years, AMGC has been working with our manufacturers to identify and support promising manufacturing projects. These projects have resulted in an uplift in jobs, skills and Australia’s global competitiveness and the latest round of funding will allow us to continue the good work,” Goennemann said.

“This funding supports AMGC’s vision to transform Australian manufacturing to be internationally competitive, dynamic and thriving, with advanced capabilities and skills at its core – in short, we want to help Australia move from being a lucky country to a smart one.”

Projects must include collaboration with a research partner and a minimum of one industry partner.

The fund will run over an 18-month period. The first round of funding, which opens today, will provide $20 million while a subsequent round will deliver the remaining $10 million.

The fund will be managed and administered by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), in collaboration with the five other Industry Growth Centres AustCyber, Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL), MTPConnect, METS Ignited and National Energy Resources Australia (NERA), and the CSIRO.

Source: https://www.ferret.com.au/news/30m-grants-program-to-support-local-manufacturing/

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