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