Govt dishes out $6m in commercialisation grants


Joseph Brookes
Senior Reporter

Four Australian companies have shared in $2.4 million of federal funding in the latest round of commercialisation grants, tipping the 7-year-old program past $260 million in funding offers.

A further $3.7 million has also been dished out as part of a separate $39 million commercialisation program.

The latest successful recipients of Accelerating Commercialisation grants are in the medtech, eCommerce, healthtech and logistics sectors. The scheme is delivered under the Department of Industry’s long running Entrepreneurs’ Programme.

Under the program, small and medium businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers can apply for up to $1 million in matched funding and guidance on commercialising of novel products, processes and services.

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The Entrepreneurs’ Programme has now provided 535 grants worth more than $262.3 million

Queensland company LifeTech Balance has doubled up, receiving a second grant of $671,00 in the latest round to commercialise its screen time management platform ScreenCoach, just over a year after receiving a near-$300,000 grant to develop the product.

The company is now seeking venture capital and is planning to launch a product in September. It has also claimed to be in discussions with retailers, insurers and telcos for distribution.

Bader Investments also received $897,843 to commercialise its AI-enabled eCommerce platform, Monarc received a grant of $487,019 to commercialise its automated transport inventory system, while Melbourne-based medtech Cyban got $350,000 to commercialise a brain oxygen level monitoring device as part of the funding round.

“The matched funding for Cyban will help the company commercialise its brain pulse monitoring device, while also helping it to target the US market which is worth an estimated $800 million a year,” Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter said in a statement announcing the recipients.

“Projects such as this show why the Government is backing our local manufacturers to scale-up and take on new markets, while also helping to boost our local economy and create jobs.”

Since launching in 2014, the Entrepreneurs’ Programme has provided 535 grants worth more than $262.3 million to hundreds of Australian businesses and universities, with several businesses using an initial grant to develop IP and then receiving a second grant to commercialise it.

Last week the first round of cofounding grants were released for the federal government’s Commercialisation Fund.

Announced in March this year, the fund has allocated $30 million to be delivered over 18 months to local manufacturers operating in the government’s priority manufacturing areas.

The fund is administered by the government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, which announced the following six manufacturers had received a combined $3.73 million in co-investment, which must be matched by industry:

  • Alcolizer – Medical Products – Design and validation of a portable, saliva-based, rapid COVID-19 antigen test for asymptomatic cases
  • Loupe Geophysics – Resources and Critical Minerals Processing – Pre-production manufacturing, design, and validation of a portable electromagnetic system for shallow conductivity profiling to locate material deposits
  • Glyde It – Medical Products – Design and manufacture of a revolutionary biodegradable orifice delivery system for female hygiene products
  • Omni Tanker – Clean Energy, Space and Defence – Commercialisation of carbon-composite tanks for hydrogen transport and storage
  • Harvest B – Food and Beverage – Manufacture and commercialisation of plant-based protein ingredients
  • Zero Co – Recycling and Clean Energy – Turning single-use plastic into forever-use via recycling, refilling, and reusing via a world-first machine to clean and sterilise plastic pouches.

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