Short-term bucks for big potential

7 February 2017

The second round of Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) scheme invests $34.5 million in 17 short-term industry-led collaborations.

Image and video: ClearVue

The successful projects include the development of self-sustaining glasshouses that regulate light to maximise crop yield. The project was awarded $1.6 million over four years and is based on new glazing technology from ClearVue Technologies.

The Perth-based company applied photovoltaic and nano-technology to produce 'intelligent' glasses that both insulate and generate electricity.

This is done with a sandwich of two panes of glass which enclose an interlayer that lets visible light pass while deflecting the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) solar radiation to standard solar cells at the edges of the pane.

In a partnership with Edith Cowan University and Apex Greenhouses, ClearVue is now creating a prototype of a greenhouse that can generate its own energy to power for desalination and lighting.

Another project supported through the CRC-P scheme is led by Australian biotech company Novogen. It is the first pharmaceutical drug discovery program funded under the scheme, and was awarded the maximum of $3 million available.

In partnership with the University of New South Wales and contract research company ICP Firefly Pty Ltd, Novogen aims to develop the next-generation of anti-tropomyosin drugs which target the tropomyosin component within the skeletal structures, so called microfilaments, in cancer cells.

The cytoskeleton of cancer cells controls many fundamental processes in cancer cells such as cell growth, movement and interaction with the surrounding environment.

Novogen has already a clinical program based on an anti-tropomyosin called Anisina, which specifically targets actin microfilaments in cancer cells, while normal body cells remain unaffected. Pre-clinical trials with the new drug indicate that Anisina can boost the effectiveness of established therapies targeting other skelettal structures in cancer cells.

Image: CSIRO

The development of Super High Oleic (SHO) safflower oil by GO Resources and its partners also received maximum funding.

Safflower is currently not a major crop in Australia. But a plant variety enriched in the biodegradable oleic acid could be of great commercial interest, as the oil potentially replaces petrochemicals used in a range of industrial products such as biolubricants, biochemicals and bioplastics.

In 2015 Australian clean technology company GO Resources signed an exclusive worldwide licence with CSIRO to commercialise a genetically manipulated safflower variety producing 93% oleic safflower oil.

The company is in the process of obtaining regulatory approval for the crop.

The project now supported by the CRC-P scheme will build on this, with Professor Enzo Palombo's team at Swinburne University being the major research partner in improving the processing of the oleic acid for industrial use.

Applications for the CRC-3 Round 3 are now open until 22 March 2017.

CRC-P Round 2 projects include:
Project titleGrant $ Project Value Participants
Large Area Perovskite Photovoltaic Material Coating on Glass Substrate $2,500,000$7,182,500 Dyesol Ltd
CSR Building Products Ltd
CSIRO
High power density motors incorporating advanced manufacturing methods$2,500,000$12,055,208 magniX Technologies Pty Ltd
Ferra Engineering Pty Ltd
The University of Queensland
Development of New and Unique Super High Oleic Biobased Oil$3,000,000$10,170,754 GO Resources Pty Ltd
Kalyx Australia Pty Ltd
The trustee for Old Paroo Trust
Cargill Australia Ltd
Swinburne University of Technology
Department of Economic Development Jobs Transport and Resources
Emery Oleochemicals
Advanced Manufacturing of High Performance Building Envelope Systems$3,000,000$10,635,000 CSR Building Products Ltd
INHABIT Australasia Pty Ltd
University of Melbourne
Bespoke lightweight automotive carbon fibre composite seats$1,425,000$3,466,875 Quickstep Automotive Pty Ltd
Futuris Automotive Interiors (Australia) Pty Ltd
Deakin University
Targeting tropomyosin as a novel anti-cancer therapy$3,000,000$7,450,000 Novogen Ltd
I C P – Firefly Pty Ltd
University of New South Wales
Novel Glass Technologies and Photovoltaics in Protected Cropping$1,620,470$5,044,459 ClearVue Technologies Ltd
Edith Cowan University
Apex Greenhouses (Australia) Pty Ltd
An integrated modelling system for navigational aid in tidal inlets$425,180$1,881,500 OMC International Pty Ltd
Pivot Maritime International Pty Ltd
University of Melbourne
MetOcean Solutions Ltd
Field deployable unit for the detection of Perfluorinated contaminants$2,830,392$7,487,509 Envirolab Services Pty Ltd
KD Analytical Australia Pty Ltd
University of Tasmania
Universal Solar Module Inspection and Data Storage System$1,840,739$4,399,467 BT Imaging Pty Ltd
PV Lighthouse Pty Ltd
University of New South Wales
PV Lab Australia Pty Ltd
Epho Pty Limited
DNV GL Group
Targeted therapy for sleep apnoea: A novel personalised approach$2,950,000$10,772,924 Oventus Medical Ltd
Medical Monitoring Solutions Pty Ltd
CSIRO
Western Sydney University
Neuroscience Research Australia
Enhanced market agility for the Australian tea tree industry$598,992$2,272,709 ATTIA Ltd
Southern Cross University
University of the Sunshine Coast
Offco Pty Ltd
P Guinane Pty Ltd
Vitroflora Pty Ltd
Narromine Transplants Pty Ltd
Cassegrain Tea Tree Oil Pty Ltd
Main Camp Natural Extracts Pty Ltd
Kilkie Pty Ltd
Phyllis O’Sullivan, John Murtagh & Michael Flanagan
L Rose & RA Rose
Tech-enabled Care Pathways for Head Trauma$2,200,000$8,112,500 Neural Diagnostics Pty Ltd
GE Healthcare Australia Pty Ltd
Monash University
Industrialisation of a novel diagnostic biosensor for bladder cancer$2,430,356$9,246,468 SMR Automotive Australia Pty Ltd
University of South Australia
Flinders University
Maddern & Catt Unit Trust
The Trustee for the Pro Health Care Hope Valley Unit Trust
Wear life extension via surface engineered laser cladding for mining$2,616,000$8,266,000 LaserBond Ltd
Boart Longyear Ltd
University of South Australia
Graphene Supply Chain Certification$943,937$4,321,866 Imagine Intelligent Materials Pty Ltd
Agilent Technologies Australia (M) Pty Ltd
Swinburne University of Technology
Australian Engineering Solutions Pty Ltd
Duromer Products Pty Ltd
Power Efficient Wastewater Treatment Using Graphene Oxide Technology$632,285$1,661,785 Clean Teq Ltd
Iconic Industries Pty Ltd
Monash University
More information: www.business.gov.au