A new $1.6 billion economic accelerator will turn Australia\u2019s leading research into world-beating businesses as part of the Morrison Government\u2019s focus on building the country\u2019s resilience.
\nAustralia\u2019s Economic Accelerator (AEA) features as part of a $2.2 billion package to focus the commercialisation of the six national manufacturing priority areas \u2013 resources and critical minerals, food and beverage, medical products, recycling and clean energy, defence and space \u2013 bringing the country\u2019s brightest business and academic minds together.
\nTogether with a new $150 million expansion of CSIRO\u2019s Main Sequence Ventures, the AEA will reshape research funding to emphasise projects with high potential for commercialisation that are directed at National Manufacturing Priorities and industry engagement.
\nThe Prime Minister said the AEA would invest in projects as they progressed through the stages of their development.
\n\u201cStronger commercialisation of research and ideas will mean a stronger economy and a stronger future for Australia,\u201d the Prime Minister said.
\n\u201cThis is about funding projects to bridge the \u2018valley of death\u2019 where early-stage research is often not progressed due to higher levels of risk and uncertainty.
\n\u201cThe AEA will drive our universities and businesses to work hand-in-glove through the stages to prove projects\u2019 viability and potential.
\n\u201cExpanding the CSIRO\u2019s Main Sequence Ventures program then takes this further, incentivising the additional venture capital investment support needed to progress innovative new products and technologies through to market to become the new businesses and employers of the future.\u201d
\nActing Minister for Education and Youth Stuart Robert said the AEA would boost investment in two critical stages of experimental development: proof of concept and proof of scale.
\n\u201cThe AEA will become a critical source of competitive funding support for innovating new projects with high commercial potential, and will take a lot of the risk and uncertainty for universities out of the equation,\u201d Minister Robert said.
\n\u201cWe will start with a big range of contenders \u2013 a contest of ideas.
\n\u201cBut as we progress to stage two, the number of applicants will diminish and the value of the funding to each will increase.
\n\u201cFor example, stage one will involve nearly 100 grants a year of up to $500,000. Recipients will be required to engage industry through in-kind support or even co-location.
\n\u201cIn order to be one of the 36 recipients attracting up to $5 million in funding as part of \u2018stage two\u2019 projects, industry will need to put more skin in the game with a 50 per cent co-investment.
\n\u201cAt stage three, up to 50 companies will be supported through the Main Sequence Venture, where we are providing $150 million in two successive co-investment funds.
\n\u201cThis investment is about new jobs, increased wages, and creating products that make life easier, more efficient or even more interesting,\u201d Minister Robert said.
\nMinister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the grants were an investment in Australia\u2019s future industries and smart manufacturing within the Morrison Government\u2019s National Manufacturing Priorities.
\n\u201cBy working with industry and researchers, the government is helping to ensure our economy benefits from our world-class research, both now and well into the future,\u201d Minister Taylor said.
\nMinister for Science and Technology Melissa Price said the $150 million expansion of the CSIRO Main Sequence Ventures program would back start-up companies and help create commercial opportunities from Australian research.
\n\u201cThe Morrison Government is prioritising investment in research and action to turn Australia\u2019s best ideas into new industries and strengthen our future prosperity,\u201d Minister Price said.
\n\u201cThe expansion of the Main Sequence Ventures will further support the development of spin-off and start-up companies with high commercial potential arising from local research.
\n\u201cOver the past four years, Main Sequence Ventures has invested in 39 companies that are commercialising deep tech opportunities that have created more than 1,200 technology-related jobs.
\n\u201cOur new investment in this program will ensure it can play a bigger role in our economy and help develop the next generation of great Aussie companies and products.\u201d
\nMinister Robert said the Morrison Government would also invest $296 million in industry focused PhDs and fellowships to support its research commercialisation goals and drive greater university-industry collaboration.
\n\u201cThis new scheme will generate 1,800 industry PhDs and over 800 industry fellows over 10 years to fundamentally reshape the workforce of Australia\u2019s universities,\u201d Minister Robert said.
\n\u201cPhD students will benefit from the experience of undertaking research within industry settings, creating employment pathways beyond academic roles.
\n\u201cIndustry will benefit from the opportunities to host PhD students, bolstering their ability to harness ideas and concepts for innovation, as well as to open the pathway to the recruitment of high-calibre graduates. This will be further enhanced by a new suite of ARC Fellowships that will recognise and reward our academics who collaborate with industry, helping to drive the translation of their research, creating new pathways for their work.
\n\u201cThese initiatives will change the culture and the focus of research across Australia\u2019s universities \u2013 building greater engagement with industry and ensuring that innovation is at the core of our economic future as a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new $1.6 billion economic accelerator will turn Australia\u2019s leading research into world-beating businesses as part of the Morrison Government\u2019s focus on building the country\u2019s resilience. Australia\u2019s Economic Accelerator (AEA) features as part of a $2.2 billion package to focus the commercialisation of the six national manufacturing priority areas \u2013 resources and critical minerals, food … Continue reading “Australia's Economic Accelerator To Propel Economy”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}