- Twenty-six businesses are the latest recipients of the Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) program
- Businesses received up to $40,000 to assist in their early steps towards to commercialisation
- Applications for the IBG program are open year-round
Building material made from seaweed, intelligent braking for two-wheeled modes of transport and a wave energy conversion device are some of the latest recipients of the Cook Government’s Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) program.
Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister Stephen Dawson said the latest round of IBG has awarded 26 businesses a total of almost $1 million following an increase to the grants from $20,000 to $40,000 in early 2023. This latest round is the first since the program was relaunched under a year-round model.
Fourteen recipients in this round come from either female-founded companies or are based in the regions. Sixty per cent of the applications received were from female, First Nations, regional-founded companies or founders from a culturally diverse background. This reflects on the Cook Government’s commitment to diversity and inclusion as a priority action area of the State’s Innovation Strategy: Western Australia the place to innovate.
The IBG is designed to assist early-stage innovators overcome some of the barriers along the way to commercialisation, as well as build new relationships between innovators, consultants and service providers.
Eligible expenditure for grants include research and development, product development, technology transfer and intellectual property along with commercialisation support services.
The next cut-off date for IBG assessment is 4 April 2024. This will be the last round this financial year. There will be further application opportunities in the next financial year.
For more information and application details see: https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-jobs-tourism-science-and-innovation/new-industries-fund-innovation-booster-grant
To assist local startups to get more recognition, the Cook Government is investing in publicly promoting their stories on a new TV series. More than 70 local innovative startups will feature in a new program to be aired on Channel 9 called Innovation Nation, which will premiere on Sunday, 7 April.
The program will cover the background stories on how these startups began and how WA is fast gaining an international reputation for its dynamic and robust innovation ecosystem.
A key priority for the Cook Government is making WA a global hub for invention, investment, innovation, and impact.
As stated by Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister Stephen Dawson:
“This latest round of Innovation Booster Grants has again identified some fantastic businesses and ideas across a broad range of diverse founders.
“I look forward to following the next steps for these 26 businesses who can now climb to another platform of their business journey through the benefits from receiving an IBG.
“The Cook Government is investing tens of millions of dollars into helping our local startups become sustainable businesses through a range of different programs and initiatives, such as the IBG.
“This is an exciting time for innovation and technology in WA and the Innovation Nation program will help shine a light on the amazing stories about our successful startups and showcase their journey to get the recognition they deserve.”
Innovation Boost Grant recipients
Business Name | Grant | Project Title |
Pretect Devices Pty Ltd | $17,600 | Paediatric bioimpedance lead development |
TermiSense | $40,000 | Early-Detection of Termites and Wood Borers using smart sensors |
Circular Learning Pty Ltd | $40,000 | Commercialisation of The Learning Circle – English Language Teaching (ELT) online training platform |
L2U Group Pty Ltd t/a Cavitas Construction Systems | $40,000 | System-built construction using cavity-based modules for remote area construction projects |
Materia Health Pty Ltd | $40,000 | MateriaPOD: Revolutionizing organ/tissue cold storage to improve patient outcomes |
MineRis | $40,000 | GeoRis IM (Mine Geotechnical Risk Information Model) |
Chironix | $40,000 | Intelligent maintenance inspection of mining conveyor belts with AI robots |
Kelp Island | $40,000 | SeaBrick Prototype – sustainable construction material made from seaweed |
Everboost Pty Ltd | $40,000 | Everboost Sea Moss Ready-to-Go Drink |
Personal Quantum Technologies Pty Ltd | $40,000 | Development of quantum energy storage solutions |
Australian Space Super Corridor (ASSC) Pty Ltd | $40,000 | Modular Sustainable Satellite Station |
Nork Solutions (Nork Pty Ltd) | $40,000 | Innovative ‘Foodwaste-to-Livestock Feed’ Machinery: Detailed Engineering Design for Commercial Scale |
One Brake Pty Ltd | $39,500 | Safer intelligent braking for two-wheeled transport globally |
CycleWise Pty Ltd | $40,000 | Supporting schools to delivery My Vital Cycles – LMS for ovulatory-menstrual health literacy |
ROC Technologies | $39,990 | Generation 2 Tank Testing and Numerical Model Comparison (wave energy conversion device) |
Spacecubed Ventures | $40,000 | R&D for Commercial Use Cases for an Impact Measurement Tool (measuring the impact of the WA innovation ecosystem) |
Volta Energy | $40,000 | Battery Energy Storage System Certification |
Hermes and Soteria | $40,000 | Product development for tailings dam monitoring tool, ‘Overwatch’ |
Lubdub Technologies | $40,000 | Precise and accessible heart diagnostics tool |
Conservation Innovation | $40,000 | Commercialisation of automated fish length measurement from stereo imagery |
Space Compare | $40,000 | Intolease: A digitised commercial lease transaction platform designed for tenants |
U-CAN Ostomy Systems | $35,000 | U-Can Flush It – Fully Flushable and 100% Biodegradable Sanitary Pads |
Circular Seed | $40,000 | Circular solution for recovery of plastics from E-waste |
Energy Farmers Australia | $40,000 | Gen 2 Pyrolysis Unit – Electrification (heating feed material in a low-oxygen environment) |
Care Corner | $40,000 | Digital care coordination platform for disabled, chronically ill or elderly individuals. |
Vendaly (formerly Coffee Van Collective) | $20,483 | Software solution for mobile coffee vendors |
