The Federal Government will invest in four new Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) dedicated respectively to food, farming, honey products and transport logistics.
The CRC for High Performance Soils, which will aim to bridge the gap between soil science and farm management, will receive nearly $40 million over 10 years.
The new CRC for Honey Bee Products, which will help link unique floral hive sites to product quality control processes, will receive $7 million in funding over five years.
In addition, the new Food Agility CRC which will be dedicated to the digital transformation of the Australian food industry, will receive $50 million from the government over 10 years.
Finally, the iMove CRC, which will explore digital and evolving vehicle technologies to help traffic to flow more smoothly, will receive $55 million over 10 years.
“I’m delighted that the new CRCs selected in this 18th funding round will involve interdisciplinary researchers working with industry to explore new processes, including digital technologies, to deliver improvements in strategic industry sectors,” commented Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Senator Arthur Sinodinos.
“The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Programme is a competitive, merit based grant programme that supports industry-led and outcome-focused collaborative research partnerships between industry, researchers and the community.
“Since the programme’s inception, the Australian Government has invested more than $4.2 billion in innovation and research that is aimed at finding practical solutions for Australian industry, whether it is new products, processes or services.”