$30m fund for commercialising local manufacturing

The federal government has announced a $30 million Commercialisation Fund to help new manufacturing products and processes become a reality.

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the fund was part of the Modern Manufacturing Strategy and was focused on bringing industry and research together.

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.

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 CSIRO.

AMGC managing director Dr Jens Goennemann said the 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.

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.

Andrews said: “We are 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.”

The funds will support projects within the six National Manufacturing Priorities identified in the strategy: Medical Products; Food and Beverage; Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing; Recycling and Clean Energy; Defence; and Space.

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.”

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