Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean said the R&D grants will support emission-reducing innovations developed by universities, industry and other research organisations.

“We’re calling on New South Wales’ (NSW) best engineers, scientists and researchers to come forward with their ideas on how we can lower carbon emissions into the future, and accelerate the State’s clean industrial revolution,” he said.

“These grants are part of the NSW government’s $750 million investment in Net Zero Industry and Innovation, which is a cornerstone of our Net Zero Plan to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.”

The grants program is targeting co-investment in early-stage technologies to reduce emissions in three key areas:

1. electrification and energy systems
2. primary industry and land management
3. powerfuels, including hydrogen.

“With strong research and financial sectors, NSW is ideally positioned to create an ecosystem where clean technologies are rapidly developed, repeatedly innovated and scaled-up to meet our emissions targets,” Kean said.

The grants program is administered by the NSW Environmental Trust and will be available annually until 2026.

Expressions of Interest for the current round close at 5 pm on 23 November 2021, with up to $5 million available for individual grants ranging from $400,000 to $4 million.