We all still remember how Australia came together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Commonwealth, state and territory governments, industry, the research sector and the wider community were united in the significant challenges we faced to keep us safe and develop and adapt to new ways of working.
We worked on resolving issues on face masks, vaccines, respirators, smartphone apps and clogged supply chains, building on existing research and scientific evidence.
The current war in Iran has re-emphasised threats to Australia’s sovereignty and security, and the extreme risks we are facing when fuel supplies and supply chains are again interrupted or delayed.
It also underscores why it’s important to continue diversifying to decarbonised energy sources and supplies, and how, as a nation, we can quickly pivot to new solutions.
Research continues to produce a commercially developed product that can replace petrol and diesel; advances are being made into hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels, and electric vehicles keep improving in range and efficiency, including in heavy vehicles.
To grow Australian businesses, successive governments have invested significantly in R&D grants across a wide range of programs to support the commercialisation of their innovations. These include the Cooperative Research Centres, CRC-Projects, Commercialisation Australia, Accelerating Commercialisation, Australian Renewable Energy Authority, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and the R&D Tax Incentive to name a few.
In the energy and environment sectors, and agriculture, Australian-based organisations have received grant funding to develop new biofuels, better energy storage/batteries, hydrogen technologies, carbon-free fertilisers, and recyclable plastics. All were aimed at reducing our dependence on internationally sourced oil-based products and carbon-based fertilisers, increasing our ability to ensure products are ‘Made in Australia’, and growing new industries, jobs, and exports for Australia.
The Strategic Examination of R&D report Ambitious Australia, released last week, reiterated the disconnected nature of the Australian research and innovation system, with its gaps, duplication, poor coordination across more than 150 programs, and lack of ongoing funding for commercialisation.
The current crisis is a driver to urgently reconnect research outcomes with industry know-how. We need to use the work of our brightest people and turn it to the country’s advantage. We also need to use the muscle of governments as major purchasers.
The lack of “a single source of truth” about those investments inhibits what we know about the past. But given the level of taxpayer dollars invested in these energy, environment and agriculture technology areas over the past 15 years it would be worthwhile for government to look through those funded grants, find out their current development status, and understand what it would take to scale or implement them.
Some of these technologies may help us immediately, some may need to pivot and some may be a longer-term growth opportunity for the country.
Of course we need to address the fuel crisis with available solutions; but we also need to understand what else we can activate in the medium-term to grow our future economic security, build new industries and jobs, and future-proof ourselves from messy supply chains in a carbon-reliant economy.
The future relies on us today.
Natalie Chapman is managing director and co-founder at commercialisation and marketing specialists Gemaker, and has more than 20 years’ experience turning innovative ideas and technologies into thriving businesses.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.