Clean technology commercialisation grants

1. Eligible applicants

To be eligible for funding, the lead applicant must:

• hold an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• be an eligible organisation as outlined in Appendix 2
• be the legal and beneficial owner of, or has all necessary rights to use, any IP necessary to carry out the project
• hold all insurances required by law, including $20 million public liability insurance and workers compensation
• materially comply with all:
  • obligations under employment contracts, industrial agreements and awards
  • codes of conduct and practice relevant to conditions of service and to the relations between the applicant and the employees employed by the applicant
  • applicable workplace health and safety legislation.
• not be subject to any insolvency event including the subject of an order or resolution for winding up or dissolution (other than for the purposes of reconstruction or amalgamation) or the appointment of a receiver, liquidator, administer or similar
• not be listed on the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade sanctions list
• disclose any legal proceedings or investigations including litigation, arbitration, mediation or conciliation that are taking place, pending or (to the best of the applicant’s knowledge, after having made proper enquiry) threatened against the applicant or a related body corporate (as defined in the Corporations Act)
• disclose all Australian Government and/or Australian state, territory grants applied for in relation to the project including history of grant funding (including both successful and unsuccessful applications).

2. Eligible project

To be eligible for funding the lead applicant must confirm the project:

• is based in NSW
• is applying for funding between $250,000 and $5,000,000
• is expected to be complete within 3 years of commencement7
• is aimed at accelerating commercialisation or scaling-up a clean technology at TRL 6-9 and has a CRI less than 5 in NSW (see appendix 1)
• directly contributes toward the commercialisation of a clean technology including, but not limited to, the following activities:
  • full-scale pilots and/or demonstration projects in operational environments to prove commercial and/or technical viability to customers, investors or strategic partners
  • engaging external professionals to provide commercialisation guidance such as identifying market opportunities, or developing business models, cost-down strategies, market entry and regulatory approval pathways or IP management plans
  • scaling production, marketing or other activities to support customer sales in Australian and/or international markets
  • engaging one or more experienced executive(s) to fill an identified gap in the management team, for the purposes of achieving commercialisation outcomes.

If the applicant is an international organisation interested in commercialising a clean technology not yet used in NSW, they must also confirm:

• the international organisation is willing to establish a Australian based entity duly incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) and hold and comply with all necessary authorisations that are material to the conduct of the business of the applicant
•  at the full application stage, the project has a NSW-based project sponsor that demonstrates commitment to endorse the clean technology (see Interstate and international applicants)

3. Criticality of grant funding

To be eligible for funding, the lead applicant must confirm:

•  it has an aggregated annual turnover of less than $20 million for each of the 3 financial years prior to the lodgement of the application (unless the organisation is controlled by a publicly funded research organisation, such as a university spin-out, in which case, the lead applicant must have an individual annual turnover of less than $20 million for each of the 3 financial years prior to lodgement of the application)
• the project would not proceed without NSW Government funding (in the near term or at all) and outline why you are unable to access sufficient funding for the entire project from alternative sources (eg. directors, shareholders, loans or equity investments)
• the project has co-contribution funding arrangements of at least 1:1 between grant funding (from this grant) and other sources (eg. applicant, collaborators, private or other public organisations). Projects that have a cash contribution from a potential customer or an institutional investor will be viewed favourably during assessment. Higher cash contributions will also be viewed favourably. In-kind (non-financial) contributions are not eligible.

1. Technical and commercial feasibility

This criterion is worth 25% of the assessment score. 

1. Provide an outline of the commercialisation project. This should include high-level technical design information and an indication of the TRL and CRI of the clean technology at the start and end of the project.
2. Briefly outline the functional, technical and financial feasibility of the clean technology.
3. Briefly outline your proposed business model and why customers will want to buy your clean technology.
4. Briefly describe the market opportunity.
5. If you are an international applicant briefly outline:
   • why your clean technology is significantly more innovative and commercially viable than alternative solutions currently available in NSW or Australia
   • the main barriers preventing your clean technology from being adopted in NSW or Australia.

2. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential

This criterion is worth 25% of the assessment score. 

1. Provide a forecast emissions abatement within the project’s target sector if successfully commercialised and deployed.
2. Provide a reasonable estimation of the accuracy of forecasting methodology used. This includes clearly stated assumptions and calculations and should include an estimation of the uptake potential of the target sector.
3. Provide a brief statement on why the proposed clean technology is critical to the decarbonisation of the target sector and why it is more promising than other emerging clean technologies which may be able to serve the same decarbonisation objectives.

3. Management capability

This criterion is worth 20% of the assessment score. 

1. Outline your relevant prior experience and demonstrated capability to deliver the project.
2. Provide high-level details of any partner organisations that will be collaborating on this project and the proposed governance arrangements. Attach a letter of support from each partner organisation.
3. List key personnel on the delivery team who will be involved in the design, delivery and ongoing management of the project. Attach a short CV for all key personnel outlining their relevant expertise and role in the project delivery.
4. If your project includes recruiting an experienced executive, briefly outline the role they will fill within your organisation and how they will help you realise the full commercialisation potential of your clean technology.

4. Project delivery plan

This criterion is worth 20% of the assessment score. 

1. Outline the high-level project plan including key objectives, milestones and approximate timeline of deliverables.
2. Provide a high-level outline of the commercialisation plan to generate sales or scale-up within the target market.
3. List the main technical and delivery risks including proposed mitigation measures.
4. Provide a high-level outline of the funding required to deliver the project (from this grant and all other sources), including an initial estimate of the capital and operating components of the budget.
5. Briefly outline your IP strategy.

5. Alignment with NSW Government strategic objectives

This criterion is worth 10% of the assessment score. 

1. Outline how the project aligns with the grant objectives and the priority areas identified in the NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Study.

2. Outline the preliminary forecast social and economic benefits to NSW if the clean technology is successfully commercialised and deployed including potential savings for households and businesses, job creation, export opportunities, productivity improvements and national or international competitiveness.
3. Provide brief details of the proposed commitment and approach to sharing learnings from the project with the NSW Government and broader community.

1. Technical and commercial feasibility

This criterion is worth 25% of the assessment score. 

1. Provide a detailed outline of the commercialisation project. This should include the detailed technical design information and the TRL and CRI of the clean technology at the start and end of the project.
2. Provide a detailed outline of the functional, technical and financial feasibility of the clean technology. Include evidence of the outcomes of any prototype testing, pilots, demonstrations, or sales completed to date.
3. Outline your business model including the proposed revenue model and provide evidence of why customers will want to buy your clean technology such as the results of any market research or economic analysis that validates your value proposition.
4. Provide details of your target market including intended customers, market size, market structure, and your current position in the market. Include details of your most likely competitors and your competitive advantage.
5. If you are an international applicant, provide a detailed outline on:
   1. why your clean technology is significantly more innovative and commercially viable than alternative solutions currently available in NSW or Australia
   2. the main barriers preventing your clean technology from being adopted in NSW or Australia and how the grant will you help overcome these barriers.
6. Provide any letters of support from industry partners or private investors that endorse bringing the clean technology to market. For international applicants, this includes a letter of endorsement from your project sponsor supporting your response to question 5 and outlining their interest in purchasing the clean technology, should it be successfully commercialised.

2. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential

This criterion is worth 25% of the assessment score. 

1. Provide a detailed forecast emissions abatement within the project’s target sector if successfully commercialised and deployed in NSW.

2. Provide a reasonable estimation of the accuracy of forecasting methodology used. This includes clearly stated assumptions and calculations and should include details on the estimated uptake potential of the target sector. Where relevant, include letters from relevant industry stakeholders supporting your forecasts.
3. Provide a detailed statement on why the proposed clean technology is critical to the decarbonisation of the target sector and why it is more promising than other emerging clean technologies which may be able to serve the same decarbonisation objectives.

3. Management capability

This criterion is worth 20% of the assessment score.

1. Provide a detailed overview of your prior experience and demonstrated capability to deliver the project and/or your access to appropriate personnel with the relevant business, commercialisation and technology expertise. This should include information on the technical, financial and administrative experiences of the applicant and any collaborators. Attach a short CV for all key personnel critical for project delivery.

2. Provide details of the project’s governance arrangements in relation to this project (eg. project oversight, or advisory boards).
3. If your project includes recruiting an experienced executive, explain:
   • their role and responsibilities within the organisation
   • how they will help you realise the full commercialisation potential of your clean technology
   • how they will be appointed or recruited (if you have already identified an individual to fill this role, please attach a CV outlining their relevant experience).

4. Project delivery plan

This criterion is worth 20% of the assessment score. 

1. Provide a detailed project plan including key activities required to meet the objectives, measures of success, timelines and how the project will be evaluated. A template will be provided for your project plan.
2.  Provide a detailed budget including a proposed grant payment profile, justification for the proposed payment profile and details of co-contribution. Applicants must also provide evidence to support the commitment of matched funds.
3. Provide a risk management plan outlining technical, delivery and market challenges (eg. government regulation, market inertia, timing imperatives, manufacturing capability or capacity) and your proposed mitigation strategies.
4. Provide a commercialisation plan to generate sales or scale-up within the target market, including expected timeframes.
5. Provide details of your IP strategy including any management and protection mechanisms that may be employed (eg. future protection strategies, patent insurance, trademarks, etc.).
6. If applicable, provide details of your manufacturing strategy if the clean technology is successfully commercialised and deployed.

5. Alignment with NSW Government strategic objectives

This criterion is worth 10% of the assessment score.

1. Provide details of the finalised forecast of social and economic benefits to NSW if the technology is successfully commercialised and deployed including potential investment attracted into NSW, job creation, productivity improvements, savings for households and businesses, export opportunities and project’s contribution to creating resilient low carbon industries.
2. Outline your commitment and approach to sharing learnings from the project with the NSW Government and broader community. Include detail on the extent to which the knowledge generated from your project will support the enhancement of decarbonisation opportunities and/or the development of new markets and supply chains.