Four new industry CRCs receive $151.5m from Canberra
FOUR challenges to Australian industry sectors are being met by new Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs), backed by more than $151.5 million in Federal Government funding, in a bid to find innovative solutions.
The CRCs are being set up to find practical solutions to problems such as farm soil performance, honey bee product development, digital technology to boost farming practices and next generation vehicle control systems – then produce tangible outcomes.
The iMove CRC will receive $55 million over 10 years to explore ‘digital and evolving vehicle technologies’ to help traffic to flow more smoothly. 
“The goal is to reduce traffic congestion, lower fuel use and emissions and, as a result, drive improved national productivity and competitiveness,” Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Arthur Sinodinos said.
A new CRC for High Performance Soils will receive almost $40 million over 10 years to help farmers bridge the gap between soil science and farm management.
“This will give them the tools and knowledge they need to make decisions on complex soil management issues,” Senator Sinodinos said.
A new CRC for Honey Bee Products will receive $7 million over five years in a program to help link unique floral hive sites to product quality control processes. The aim of the CRC’s programs will be to create “a healthy product image for national and international markets”.
The new Food Agility CRC is aiming to help Australia’s food industry grow its comparative advantage through digital transformation. The CRC will receive $50 million from the
Federal Government over 10 years.
“I’m delighted that the new CRCs selected in this 18th funding round will involve interdisciplinary researchers working with industry to explore new processes, including digital technologies, to deliver improvements in strategic industry sectors,” Senator Sinodinos said..
He said the CRC program was a competitive, merit based grant program to support “industry-led and outcome-focused collaborative research partnerships between industry, researchers and the community”.
“Since the programme’s inception, the Australian Government has invested more than $4.2 billion in innovation and research that is aimed at finding practical solutions for Australian industry, whether it is new products, processes or services,” he said.
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