The Environmental Trust has received 79 expressions of interest totalling over $100 million for Clean Technology Research and Development projects in its second grants round.
Executive Director Climate Change and Sustainability, Dr Kate Wilson, said, "We were very impressed with the diversity of the applicants across a wide range of sectors and technology types.
"The Technical Review Committee is assessing the applications and we expect a short list of the best EOI applicants to be invited to submit a full application in March, with funding to be awarded to successful grantees in mid-2023."
The second-round funding is offering up to $14 million for research and development projects across the three priority areas set down for 2022–23.
The priorities for Round 2 cover:
- electrification and energy systems: accelerating renewable energy solutions and supporting the uptake of electrification in other sectors,
- land and primary industries: coordinating efforts in sustainable primary industry practices and
- power fuels, including hydrogen: growing an environmentally sustainable NSW power fuels industry, unlocking decarbonisation opportunities for many hard-to-abate sectors beyond 2030.
"The grants also promote collaboration and knowledge sharing, creating an environment fostering innovation so new technologies are domestically developed, tested and used here in NSW," Dr Wilson said.
The grants are part of NSW's Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program, which provides more than $1 billion to support and partner with industry to move towards net zero.
The NSW Government aims to reduce emissions by 70% by 2035 and achieve net zero by 2050.
Annual funding priorities will be guided by the NSW Office of Chief Scientist and Engineer Decarbonisation Innovation Study.
By accelerating the development of clean technology and decarbonisation, New South Wales will grow its economy, support jobs and significantly reduce emissions.
The funding will be available to fund individual grants of between $400,000 and $3,000,000. Applicants must be able to match the grant funding with cash and in-kind contributions.
Successful grant recipients are expected to be announced in the second half of 2023.
