A NSW Government website

Emerging Industry Infrastructure Fund

Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing

Emerging Industry Infrastructure Fund Round Two

Round Two Recipients

The second round of the Emerging Industry Infrastructure Fund (EIIF) for Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing has provided funding to two university-led consortia. Further information on the recipients can be found at the link below:

EIIF Round Two Recipients

EIIF Round 2 Webinar

The Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer (OCSE) hosted a webinar for applicants for EIIF Round 2 - Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering on Tuesday 27 September. The webinar may be viewed below.

The Emerging Industry Infrastructure Fund (EIIF) supports the recommendations of the Turning Ideas into Jobs: Accelerating research and development in NSW Action Plan (ARDAC Report). The ARDAC Report recommends supporting emerging infrastructure to:

  • Turbocharge precincts – systematically develop precincts to attract national and global technology industries and investment, and drive collaboration with universities, research organisations, start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs to commercialise R&D (Priority Action 3).
  • Target strategic support for NSW Universities – collaborate on research that will drive the state’s future strategic growth industries and research-led attraction of industry, and form partnerships to better leverage Commonwealth Government research funding (Priority Action 4).

The NSW 20-Year R&D Roadmap identified biotechnology as a key technology theme, with the applications of synthetic biology and biomanufacturing (including cell-based meats and other applications), and genetic engineering identified as competitive advantages.

Consultations conducted by OCSE have indicated that there is an unmet demand for access to shared infrastructure supporting synthetic biology and biomanufacturing including precision fermentation, bioreactors and PC2 labs. This is further supported by several research sector and government reports including the 2021 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap, the Australian Council of Learned Academies Report - Synthetic Biology in Australia: An Outlook to 2030 and the CSIRO Report – A National Synthetic Biology Roadmap

Round 2 of the EIIF will provide up to $6 million to support Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing specific infrastructure, facilities, equipment and platforms which could allow activities such as prototyping, scaleup and testing of products. The supporting staff could connect researchers, industry, startups and supply chains. Programs could include incubation and acceleration support.

Applications are open to universities, public and private research organisations and facilities as well private companies providing facilities and programs which could be open access.

Applicants are encouraged to collaborate on proposals with university and/or industry partners where appropriate and can apply as a consortium of organisations.

EIIF funding will be awarded to applications based on merit-based assessment and will depend on the overall quality and quantity of applications received.

Guidelines

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Important dates

6 September 2022

Applications open

1 November 2022

Applications close

December 2022

Applicants are informed of the outcome.

Please note that dates are subject to change.

Contact

If you have questions regarding the EIIF, contact us through: