Applications are open for Stage 1 of the $50 million National Soil Carbon Innovation Challenge.
Soils can store carbon, which helps:
- reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions
- improve farm productivity and crop yields
- boost resilience to drought and erosion.
But accurately measuring changes in soil carbon to achieve these benefits can be expensive and labour intensive. The Australian Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap aims to lower the average cost of soil carbon measurement to less than $3 per hectare per year.
The National Soil Carbon Innovation Challenge will help us get closer to this goal. It offers funding to accelerate the development of technologies that can lower the cost of measurement.
Stage 1 of the challenge provides grants of up to $100,000 for feasibility studies into new measurement technologies. It is open for applications until 10 December 2021.
Stage 2 will open in the coming months. It will provide funding for proof-of-concept, validation and demonstration of measurement technologies. You do not need to complete Stage 1 to apply for Stage 2.
