A $250,000 project fund to support carbon fibre and advanced fibre-based manufacturing in Geelong was announced on Thursday afternoon, aiming to assist in commercialising collaborative projects between firms and researchers.
The funds will be allocated through the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre to the Advanced Fibre Cluster Geelong, supporting advanced fibre, carbon fibre and composite manufacturers located at Carbon Nexus. The site is at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus.
Members involved in the cluster include Carbon Revolution, CSIRO, Austeng and Quickstep.
“The investment today will strengthen Geelong’s well-established leadership amongst Australian manufacturers and researchers, and reflects the types of investments and strategies that will be recommended by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre’s Sector Competitiveness Plan,” said the federal MP for Corangamite, Sarah Henderson, in a statement.
“Tight collaboration and commercialisation between industry and research institutions remains a top priority for the Australian manufacturing sector,” said Dr Jens Goennemann, managing director of the AMGC.
The Carbon Nexus centre is a $34 million, open-access research facility, opened in 2014.