The University of Adelaide received the highest level of funding of any university at $19.1 million for six projects, including for sustainable fuels, AI, minerals processing and quantum, while UniSA has received more than $2.1 million for one project in digital agriculture.
The AEA Innovate Grant supports proof of scale research commercialisation projects through competitive grants of up to $5 million.
South Australian projects are:
The University of Adelaide
- $2,754,477 Sustainable Fuels: Build and demonstration of a zero-electricity, solar hydrogen reactor which will produce low-cost, clean green hydrogen at commercial scale
- $710,337 Value-add in resources, Critical and Strategic Minerals Processing: Manufacturing of advanced green lixiviant from biomass resources for circular critical metal production and recovery
- $3,791,636 Medical science, Artificial Intelligence (AI): Commercialisation of novel AI-assisted functional imaging technologies for understanding lung disease
- $2,555,423 Defence capability, Quantum: Novel Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) Array Technology for Ultrasensitive Signal Sensing
- $4,965,108 Quantum: Maturing Quantum Sensors to Match Real-World Needs Enabling capabilities
- $4,287,471 Digital Agriculture, AI: Developing Australian meat into the world’s best product with an artificial intelligence-enabled meat scanner
University of South Australia
- $2,146,000 Digital Agriculture: Olives the Australian Way - A pre-commercial demonstration of a novel debittering process for a new style of table olive
South Australia’s Chief Scientist Craig Simmons congratulated the two universities, which will become Adelaide University on 1 January 2026, saying the state was at the forefront of global research in sustainable fuels, AI and digital agriculture.
“Securing more than $21 million in this round, in areas of strategic importance to our state, is a vote of confidence in the new university and the research capabilities we have in South Australia,” he said.
“The areas of research that we are focusing on, including renewables, agriculture, minerals, medicine and critical tech, are of strategic importance to our state to drive growth and economic development.”
Nationally, 39 significant research commercialisation projects were funded in the first round, with funding totalling more than $93 million.
More than $178 million has now been awarded to Australian innovators through AEA Seed, Ignite and Innovate rounds as part of the $1.6 billion AEA program.
The next round of Ignite and Innovate grants will open later in the month, making an additional $150 million available to projects with the potential to deliver the next breakthrough.
