Clean technology research, development and commercialisation infrastructure grants

Stage 1: expression of interest

A maximum of 3 EOIs may be submitted by each applicant.

EOIs will be assessed on a competitive basis. If your EOI is successful, you will be invited to submit a full application.

Stage 2: full application

A more detailed response to each of the merit criteria will be required at the full application stage. Details of the full application requirements will be provided to successful EOI applicants.

In addition, applicants may be requested to provide the following information:

• a project business plan including project management and procurement plans, a detailed budget and budget management plan and risk register
• evidence that the proposed infrastructure addresses a market need and is required to support emerging clean technologies and accelerate the decarbonisation of high-emitting and hard-to-abate NSW sectors
• evidence of collaboration agreements, governance arrangements and key personnel to commence the project
• an evaluation framework and plan for reporting on objectives and outcomes associated with the project.

The department will provide the necessary templates to support applicants prepare the requested information. 

If you are a successful applicant, a funding agreement will be prepared based on the information provided in the full application. The department may publish non-sensitive details of successful projects on our website. This information may include:

• name of your organisation and any collaborators
• title of the project
• description of the project and its objectives
• amount of grant funding awarded.

1. Eligible applicants

To be eligible for funding, the lead applicant must:

• have an Australian Business Number
•  be an eligible organisation as outlined in Appendix 2
•  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 investigation, 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 Australian state government, territory government grants applied for in relation to the project including history of grant funding over the last 5 years (including both successful and unsuccessful applications).

2. Eligible projects

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

• is based in NSW
• is applying for funding between $1 million and $10 million
• supports the advancement of clean technologies at TRL 6-9 and/or have a CRI between 2-3
• is one of the following specific infrastructure types that supports the rapid development of
• clean technology:
  • new or upgraded major innovation infrastructure
  • e-infrastructure to generate data
  • physical infrastructure to store data
  • other infrastructure that supports that supports significant decarbonisation.

Note: Applicants wishing to apply under ‘other infrastructure that supports significant decarbonisation’, should contact the department before submitting an EOI to discuss if the project will be considered under these grants.

3. Criticality of grant funding

To be eligible for funding, the lead applicant must demonstrate the project:

• would not proceed without NSW Government funding
• has co-contribution funding arrangements of at least 1:1 between grant funding (from this grant) and other sources (eg. the applicant, collaborators, private or other public organisations). Co-contribution funding must include a cash component. Higher cash contributions will be considered favourably.

1. Technical and commercial feasibility

This criterion is worth 30% of the assessment score.

Applications will be assessed against each of the following criteria related to the project's technical and commercial feasibility. Applicants must:

• provide an overview of the project including the proposed infrastructure, the clean technologies, stakeholder groups and high-emitting industry sectors it will support, and the estimated emissions reduction potential
• provide evidence of the demand for the proposed infrastructure including, but not limited to, market research validating your value proposition and an indication of how the infrastructure will address a current market gap/need in NSW
• outline the technical feasibility of the proposed infrastructure including evidence of the infrastructure’s applicability to the clean technologies and industry sectors it will support and its projected lifespan beyond the scope of this project
• outline how the project will protect and manage intellectual property (IP) generated through use of the infrastructure (both internal and external users). Include details on policy, guidelines and processes that will be used to ensure IP is appropriately protected
• list key technical and delivery risks associated with this project including proposed mitigation measures.

2. Capability and capacity

This criterion is worth 25% of the assessment score.

Applications will be assessed against each of the following criteria related to the applicant’s capability and capacity to deliver the project and administer the infrastructure. Applicants must:

• outline the lead applicants demonstrated prior experience in designing, developing and delivering large-scale clean technology infrastructure projects
• outline the lead applicant’s relevant prior experience that demonstrates its capability to manage and administer the proposed infrastructure as a commercial business or enterprise once operational
• provide an organisational structure and list the key personnel who will be involved in the design, development, delivery and ongoing management of the infrastructure as a commercial business or enterprise. Attach a short CV for all key personnel outlining their relevant expertise and role in the project delivery
• provide details of any partner organisations that will be collaborating on this project.

Outline the role of each partner organisation and provide a diagram of the proposed governance and management arrangements. Attach a letter of support from each partner organisation. 

Note: The NSW Government encourages collaborative applications that demonstrate multi-disciplinary expertise and financial co-contributions.

3. Financial feasibility

This criterion is worth 25% of the assessment score.

Applications will be assessed against each of the following criteria related to the financial feasibility of the project. Applicants must:

• provide a high-level budget for this project including:
  • funding from this grant and co-contributions from all other sources
  • proposed project expenditure profile
  • an indicative budget outlining an initial estimate of the capital expenditure, employee and operating costs and expected revenue opportunities.
• outline the financial feasibility of the project including the proposed revenue or funding model for ongoing operation of the infrastructure over its projected life expectancy
• explain why NSW Government funding is essential to support the implementation of this project and how a minimum of 1:1 co-contribution will be achieved.

4. Accessibility and alignment to grant priorities

This criterion is worth 20% of the assessment score.

Applications will be assessed against each of the following criteria related to the accessibility of the infrastructure and alignment with government priorities. Applicants must:

• outline how this project will support the decarbonisation of high-emitting and hard-toabate sectors in NSW to 2030 and beyond
• outline the forecast economic and environmental benefits to the NSW economy including productivity, competitiveness, emissions abatement potential of future technologies that the infrastructure supports and how this will be monitored and reported on
• outline how the project will ensure the infrastructure is made widely accessible for use by external organisations including but not limited to research institutions, industry and innovators
• outline how the project aligns with the following objectives of the grants:
  • support the acceleration of clean technology research, development and commercialisation
  • enhance domestic capabilities to innovate clean technologies which do not yet exist
  • promote collaboration between industry, researchers and universities.
• outline how the infrastructure will be promoted to ensure opportunities for collaboration between research institutions, industry and innovators
• outline how the project will support, integrate with and develop clean technology or industry ecosystems.