Deakin is thrilled to receive four highly competitive Australian Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite grants to boost impact in renewable technologies, defence and cyber expertise.
The AEA Ignite program is designed to drive innovation in several of our nation's priority areas, as outlined in the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Declaration 2023, with the aim of securing our future economic prosperity.
Our winning AEA Ignite projects
Deakin's successful 2025 AEA grants, totalling almost $2 million, span pure science and research in artificial intelligence (AI) to cyber defence, sustainable fabric pigments and clean energy. View the full list of successful projects.
Overseer: An artificial intelligence platform for quality assurance in manufacturing - $499,667
Dr Scott Barnett, A2I2 Initiative
Waste in manufacturing is an 8 trillion-dollar global problem. Led by Dr Barnett, the Overseer project is a proof-of-concept AI platform designed to reduce waste in manufacturing by identifying the root cause of defects. The project will pilot the technology in a R&D manufacturing facility to determine the viability of creating a spin-out software business and a commercialisation and technology roadmap.
'This project with our partner Quickstep will explore how AI can assist operators in discovering defects and support the overall manufacturing process,' said Dr Barnett.
'AI presents a tremendous opportunity for manufacturing. It's great to see a company like Quickstep exploring the potential of AI in quality assurance.'
Quantum Automation for Cyber Defence, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment - $499,960
Professor Robin Ram Mohan Doss, Deakin Cyber Research and Innovation Centre
A global surge in cyber incidents has exposed current limitations of cyber defence technologies. Professor Doss will lead a quantum computing project aimed at detecting cyber threats early and responding to them automatically, in near real time.
'We will harness quantum principles combined with AI models to anticipate, understand and mitigate cyber threats more effectively than ever before,' said Professor Doss.
'Our solution will deliver tangible benefits by preventing compromise of our critical infrastructures, systems and people by sophisticated adversaries and ensuring we remain cyber safe.'
Perpetual pigments - textile waste to paint for sustainable coloured products - $492,754
Associate Professor Rangam Rajkhowa, Institute for Frontier Materials
Fibres expert Associate Professor Rangam Rajkhowa will lead a project aimed at turning textile waste into paint for sustainable coloured products. The AEA Ignite grant will help the project reach a higher technical readiness level taking it one step closer to commercialisation.
'We will use this fund for pre-proof of scale trials to gain confidence and overcome technical hurdles prior to proof of scale and establishing a micro-factory for perpetual pigments,' said Associate Professor Rajkhowa.
'This research commercialisation funding is crucial to overcome the challenges of research translation.'
3D Printed High-Performance Electrodes for Sustainable Fuel and Clean Energy Generation Systems - $397,452
Dr Vipul Gupta, School of Life and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment
Dr Gupta's project focuses on commercially viable and scalable clean energy generation systems to advance Australia's plan for net-zero emissions. This project aims to transform three pivotal global socio-economic sectors: the hydrogen economy, sustainable fuels and additive manufacturing, representing a market value of $460 billion.
'Over the past decade, we have developed new 3D printing materials and methods that can enable the production of more energy efficient and compact clean energy generation systems,' said Dr Gupta.
'These innovations would extend the use of hydrogen and sustainable fuels to unique commercial and defence applications and could pave the way for a more sustainable energy future.'
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