Uni of Newcastle secures $20.7 million innovation facility

The federal government has awarded the University of Newcastle $20.7 million in funding to develop a ‘Future Industries Facility’ at the university’s Callaghan Campus.

The university says the Future Industries Facility will bring together undergraduate students, SMEs and community from across the Hunter to test and scale-up new technology and upskill people in Australia’s energy, resources and manufacturing sectors, for the net zero economy.

The funding is part of the Australian Government’s Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program and will contribute more than $160 million annually to the Hunter region’s economy and create 740 direct and indirect jobs.

University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky said the Future Industries Facility was the next step in the region’s transformation.

“Our university has been part of this community for 60 years and we’ve always been a connector between research, industry, education and our local people,” he said. “That’s a real strength and we know that working together is how we all achieve our goals, so we’re enormously grateful that the Australian Government has backed us to use this investment to help our region for the future.

“This crucial new initiative will enable us to boost regional development, and develop nationally significant technology to help us achieve net zero and create jobs in our region.”

“We’ve listened to businesses and understand the barriers they face in testing, piloting and scaling their ideas,” he added. “This new facility will provide the missing link on the pathway between idea and commercialisation for SMEs. It will meet three critical needs: the need for technology innovation; for decarbonised energy resources and manufacturing; and the need for skills at scale.

“It will provide a front door for business wishing to access a smart, diverse and skilled workforce, and will give undergraduate students really valuable experience working on these projects and showing them their potential career pathways.”

The investment will fund two 1250 m² and 1500 m² industrial-scale research translation and demonstration spaces allowing up to 16 academic-industry partnerships to trial and test new enabling technologies from research phase to market inception.

An accompanying Career Ready Placement Program will be an industry academy for students with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and First Nations participation.

The project is scheduled to be operational next year, with 80 small businesses projected to access the facility in the first decade.