The commercialisation of innovative ideas that address impacts of COVID-19 are being supporting by the NSW Government with two new funding streams announced.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the two programs would be delivered by Investment NSW and are focused on addressing the impacts of the pandemic across the state.
“Stimulating research and development (R&D) to leverage tech innovation to address the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 will help create a resilient, post-pandemic economy,” Mr Ayres said.
“This investment in R&D encourages collaborative projects to design or validate products, complete product testing and certification, enhance existing product capabilities, or facilitate entry into international markets.
“The new $6 million R&D Fund will help grow our standout businesses to attract local investment and take their innovation to the world as we look forward to a global economic upsurge.”
The R&D Fund targets innovative products that have been developed by NSW businesses. Proposals to scale R&D products will be assessed by a panel of judges with expertise in commercialisation, venture capital, academia, government and industry.
The COVID-19 edition of TechVouchers, valued up to $25,000 and $50,000 per business, will enable more businesses to innovate by providing access to expertise and equipment in NSW, through publicly funded research organisations such as universities, CSIRO, National Measurement Institute and ANSTO.
“TechVouchers can be used to reduce the cost of access to research facilities and equipment like electron microscopes and medical imaging, fund toxicology studies, or produce laboratory prototypes,” Mr Ayres said.
“Successful TechVoucher projects will not only enable greater engagement between businesses and researchers but will give both parties more opportunity to access additional grant programs to reduce commercial risk for businesses and underpin funds raised by businesses.”
Previous TechVoucher recipient, Dr Martin Fuechsle, Quantum Technology Manager at Archer Materials said their voucher helped to progress early-stage development of its 12CQ quantum processor chip technology at the University of Sydney’s Research and Prototype Foundry facility.
Equipment within this facility has been made possible by funding provided to the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) through the NSW Government’s Research Attraction & Acceleration Program (RAAP)
“TechVoucher support enabled us to reach key milestones in the development of the chip, which is the only proposed qubit architecture in the world with the proven potential to operate at room temperature and integrate to modern devices,” Dr Fuechsle said.
Two TechVoucher funding streams are available. One stream will target smaller projects up to six months duration and will provide up to $25,000 to eligible businesses. Another stream will target larger projects up to 12 months duration and will provide up to $50,000 to eligible businesses. TechVoucher applications are now open.
R&D Fund competitive grants of between $250,000 to $1 million will open for eligible businesses to apply during August 2021.
Additional information on guidelines, eligibility criteria and the application process are available now at https://www.business.nsw.gov.au/support-for-business/innovation-scaleup-fund