Grants of between $250,000 up to $5 million are available to support NSW organisations to commercialise clean technologies that have potential to significantly reduce emissions.
Current status of program
CLOSED
To register your interest in future rounds or discuss alternative grant opportunities please contact us here.
What is the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
The NSW Government has established the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program to accelerate the commercialisation and scaling up of proven clean technology innovations for trade in Australian and international markets. Funding is available for clean technology projects with high potential to commercialise and significantly reduce emissions in high-emitting and hard-to-abate sectors in NSW.
Funded by the Climate Change Fund, these competitive grants will help unlock the next wave of low emissions technologies needed for NSW to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The grants are designed to support low emission technologies, services and processes that have a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to 9 and a Commercial Readiness Index (CRI) less than 5 in NSW (see Appendix 1 of guidelines).
The grants application and assessment process will consist of two stages:
- Stage 1: Expression of Interest (EOI)
- Stage 2: Full application for successful EOIs.
What is the level of support of the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
This is a $40 million grants program, with $6 million funding available in the 2022 round.
The minimum grant amount is $250,000 and the maximum grant amount is $5 million. The maximum duration of projects is 3 years.
Grants will only be awarded to projects that can demonstrate a minimum of 1:1 co-contributions from other sources.
Projects that have a cash contribution from at least one potential customer or an institutional investor will be viewed favourably during assessment. Higher cash contributions will also be viewed favourably. In-kind (non-financial) contributions are not eligible.
You are welcome to submit applications that have also accessed other government funding; however, you must clearly demonstrate that your application would not proceed without funding through this grant.
Projects must be located and delivered within NSW. Interstate and international organisations seeking to commercialise clean technology not yet used in NSW can apply providing they are willing to establish a NSW-based office with local staff to deliver the project and to expend funding within the State. International organisations must also have a NSW-based sponsor.
What are the important dates for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
- This program is currently closed
- Register your interest here with GrantHelper
What are the objectives and outcomes of the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
The objectives of the grants are to:
- accelerate the deployment and scale-up of clean technologies for trade in Australian and international markets
- support establishment and growth of innovative clean technology businesses and low emission industries that future-proof jobs
- stimulate economic growth and unlock export opportunities.
What are the priority areas for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
Priority focus areas will be guided by the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer’s Decarbonisation Innovation Study. The decarbonisation priority areas outlined in this study are:
- electrification and energy systems – accelerating renewable energy solutions and supporting the uptake of electrification in other sectors
- land and primary industries – coordinating and aligning efforts in the next wave of sustainable primary industry practices as the sector contributes a significant proportions of NSW emissions
- power fuels including hydrogen – growing an environmentally sustainable NSW power fuels industry and unlocking decarbonisation opportunities for many hard to abate sectors beyond 2030.
It is recognised that clean technology innovations are constantly emerging. The grant initiative has flexibility to allow for projects that fall outside these priority areas, but they must demonstrate outstanding merit.
How to get the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants?
Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the current Decarbonisation Innovation Study to ensure their project aligns with the decarbonisation priority areas: electrification and energy systems; land and primary industries; and power fuels including hydrogen. The grants will prioritise investments in these three areas, where clean technologies have high potential to be commercialised and scaled-up.
You must read the grant guidelines and FAQs.
Successful applicants will be able to demonstrate a minimum of 1:1 co-contributions from other sources. Higher cash contributions will be considered favourably as well as projects that have a cash contribution from at least one potential customer or institutional investor.
Check out our How to Prepare Before You Apply insight.
You also need to convince the assessment committee that you have a well-defined commercialisation project including forecast emissions abatement, project management capability and expertise, and appropriate implementation resources to successfully delivery the project in its entirety within the proposed project implementation timeline.
Each application must have a lead applicant, with a limit of three EOIs from each lead applicant.
The grants program encourages collaborative applications that demonstrate multi-disciplinary expertise and financial co-contributions, so you should showcase the strength of any project collaboration as part of your application.
Most importantly, and before you start an application, you need to ensure your business is eligible for the funding. Organisations that do not meet all of the eligibility criteria outlined below will not be considered.
Check out How to write a successful grant application to learn more about how to win government grants for your small business. Our in-depth eBook is the single most valuable resource you will find that helps small business owners to truly understand how to win government grants. Follow the link to get your copy of the Guide to Winning Grants.
Is my business eligible for Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
Eligible lead applicants must:
- hold an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be an eligible organisation as outlined in Appendix 2 of the guidelines
- be the legal and beneficial owner of, or has all necessary rights to use, any IP necessary to carry out the project
- hold all insurances required by law, including $20 million public liability insurance and workers compensation
- materially comply with all:
- obligations under employment contracts, industrial agreements and awards
- codes of conduct and practice relevant to conditions of service and to the relations between the applicant and the employees employed by the applicant
- applicable workplace health and safety legislation.
- not be subject to any insolvency event including the subject of an order or resolution for winding up or dissolution (other than for the purposes of reconstruction or amalgamation) or the appointment of a receiver, liquidator, administer or similar
- not be listed on the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade sanctions list
- disclose any legal proceedings or investigations including litigation, arbitration, mediation or conciliation that are taking place, pending or (to the best of the applicant’s knowledge, after having made proper enquiry) threatened against the applicant or a related body corporate (as defined in the Corporations Act)
- disclose all Australian Government and/or Australian state, territory grants applied for in relation to the project including history of grant funding (including both successful and unsuccessful applications).
Researchers from private or public research organisations can apply. However, this must be through your research organisation’s appropriate commercialisation or technology transfer office. A separate entity must then be established to commercialise the clean technology (such as a university spin out) prior to submitting a full application.
Interstate and international applicants will be required to establish a NSW-based office with local staff capable of delivering the project and managing communications with the department within 3 months of executing the funding agreement, subject to negotiation. International applicants must also have a NSW-based project sponsor.
What projects are eligible for funding from the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
To be eligible for funding the lead applicant must confirm the project:
- is based in NSW
- is applying for funding between $250,000 and $5,000,000
- is expected to be complete within three years of commencement
- is aimed at accelerating commercialisation or scaling-up a clean technology at TRL 6-9 and has a CRI less than 5 in NSW (see Appendix 1 of guidelines)
- directly contributes toward the commercialisation of a clean technology including, but not limited to, the following activities:
- full-scale pilots and/or demonstration projects in operational environments to prove commercial and/or technical viability to customers, investors or strategic partners
- engaging external professionals to provide commercialisation guidance such as identifying market opportunities, or developing business models, cost-down strategies, market entry and regulatory approval pathways or IP management plans
- scaling production, marketing or other activities to support customer sales in Australian and/or international markets
- engaging one or more experienced executive(s) to fill an identified gap in the management team, for the purposes of achieving commercialisation outcomes.
If the applicant is an international organisation interested in commercialising a clean technology not yet used in NSW, they must also confirm:
- the international organisation is willing to establish a Australian based entity duly incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) and hold and comply with all necessary authorisations that are material to the conduct of the business of the applicant
- at the full application stage, the project has a NSW-based project sponsor that demonstrates commitment to endorse the clean technology (see Interstate and international applicants)
The guidelines define clean technologies as those that substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including low emission technologies. Technologies refers to processes, products and services including hardware, software and business model innovations.
What additional requirements ensure my eligibility for funding from the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
Eligible projects
To be eligible for funding, the lead applicant must confirm:
- it has an aggregated annual turnover of less than $20 million for each of the three financial years prior to the lodgement of the application (unless the organisation is controlled by a publicly funded research organisation, such as a university spin-out, in which case, the lead applicant must have an individual annual turnover of less than $20 million for each of the 3 financial years prior to lodgement of the application)
- the project would not proceed without NSW Government funding (in the near term or at all) and outline why you are unable to access sufficient funding for the entire project from alternative sources (eg. directors, shareholders, loans or equity investments)
- the project has co-contribution funding arrangements of at least 1:1 between grant funding (from this grant) and other sources (eg. applicant, collaborators, private or other public organisations).
What activities are eligible for funding from the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
The types of activities funded by these grants include:
- full-scale pilots and demonstration projects in operational environments to prove commercial and technical viability to customers, investors or strategic partners
- engaging external professionals to provide commercialisation guidance such as identifying market opportunities, or developing business models, cost-down strategies, market entry and regulatory approval pathways or intellectual property (IP) management plans
- scaling production, marketing or other activities to support customer sales in Australian and international markets
- engaging a senior experienced executive to fill a key gap in the management team, which is essential to achieving commercialisation outcomes (see Experienced executives in the guidelines).
What expenditure is eligible for support from the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
For guidance on eligible and ineligible expenditure, see Guidance on developing your application in the guidelines.
Eligible expenditure must:
- be expenditure directly related to undertaking the project
- be incurred by the applicant within the project duration, with the exception of audit costs
- be a direct cost of the project and not be provided for the benefit or profit of related bodies
- meet the conditions set out in these guidelines and the funding agreement.
Eligible expenditure may include:
- capital expenditure including the purchase, installation and operation of clean technology infrastructure or equipment
- project staff critical to the delivery of the project, excluding labour costs of existing positions undertaking other work within the applicant’s organisation
- contractors or consultants to manage the project or deliver specific components of the project
- the employment of a new senior experienced executive (up to $250,000 per financial year)
- eligible travel and overseas expenditure including domestic and overseas travel limited to the reasonable cost of accommodation and transportation required to undertake and deliver the project by project staff, contractors or subcontractors
- reasonable costs to protect IP related to the project, which the successful applicant owns or will own
- administrative costs directly related to the project (generally, no more than 10% of the total grant).
Grant funding does not cover:
- research and development projects (ie. projects that fall within the TRL 2 – 5)
- scaling production, marketing or other activities to support customers sales if the clean technology is at the CRI 5 or 6 in NSW
- projects aimed at developing a new technology for internal use only (ie. technologies that won’t be for sale or made available to other potential end-users)
- commercialising the new version or iteration of an existing technology where the updates and changes are minor and therefore do not qualify as being a new innovation
- expenditure on the acquisition of land for a project
- expenditure that does not directly support the successful completion of the project
- items that can reasonably be considered as business-as-usual operational costs
- salaries for positions that have already been accounted for in organisational budgets
- business-as-usual staff costs unrelated to the project such as redundancy or retirement benefits, workers compensation payments, professional fees or memberships
- activities carried out or committed to before a grant is offered and accepted
- legal costs associated with a consortium, disputes or funding arrangements not agreed to as part of the funding agreement
- infrastructure and equipment that can reasonably be assumed to be integral for the core business of successful applicants such as laptops.
How do you apply for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
The application is a two-stage process.
Submit an EOI as the first step in the two-stage application process.
Successful EOI applicants will be invited to submit a full application.
You must apply for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program online via the SmartyGrants system
What information do I need to prepare for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program registration?
For full details of requirements, see Merit criteria in the guidelines.
The following information must be prepared and submitted with your EOI:
- Outline of the commercialisation project
- Forecast emissions abatement within the project’s target sector
- Outline of relevant experience and demonstrated capability to deliver the project, including CVs for all key personnel
- Details of any collaboration involved in the delivery of the project, including letters of support from group members
- Preliminary budget
- Outline of how the project aligns with grant objectives and priority areas, as well as its social and economic benefits to NSW.
During the EOI stage, international applicants must outline how their clean technology is significantly more innovative and commercially feasible than alternative solutions currently available in NSW or Australia.
The following additional information must be prepared and submitted with your full application, if invited:
- Detailed outline of the commercialisation project
- Detailed forecast emissions abatement within the project’s target sector
- Detailed outline of relevant experience and demonstrated capability to deliver the project, including CVs for all key personnel
- Full details of governance arrangements
- Grant payment profile aligned with project needs
- Details of the finalised forecast of social and economic benefits to NSW.
At the full application stage, international applicants will need to provide a letter of endorsement from a NSW-based project sponsor endorsing the technical and commercial feasibility of the clean technology and outlining their interest in purchasing the clean technology, should it be successfully commercialised in NSW.
What is the assessment criteria and process for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program registration?
Applications will be assessed against the following Assessment Criteria for both EOI and full application stages:
| Ref | Criteria | Weighting |
| 1 | Technical and commercial feasibility | 25% |
| 2 | Greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential | 25% |
| 3 | Management capability | 20% |
| 4 | Project delivery plan | 20% |
| 5 | Alignment with NSW Government strategic objectives | 10% |
EOIs need to be submitted utilising the online grant application system SmartyGrants.
Applicants must provide supporting documentation with their responses to some of the questions in the EOI form. These documents can be uploaded directly into SmartyGrants when completing your application.
Do you need assistance applying for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program?
Is your business eligible for the Clean Technology Commercialisation Grants Program opportunity?
Or maybe you aren’t sure and want to know more?
There’s a lot to keep in mind whenever you apply for a grant, and ultimately, whatever approach you take, the process is going to be time consuming. These tips are based on some of the methods we use at GrantHelper, and they will help you create a stronger application, but there’s no getting away from the workload, whether you do it yourself, or choose to use a grant writing service.
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