REACH Trailblazer ecosystem FAQs

Deakin’s Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub (REACH) is one of six Trailblazer programs across Australia backed by a $50 million grant from the Australian Government’s inaugural Trailblazer Universities Program. Launched in 2022, Deakin’s REACH aims to establish an enduring clean and green manufacturing innovation ecosystem, leveraging commercial research partnerships to accelerate new clean energy and recycling technologies.

The Australian Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program is an initiative designed to build advanced sovereign manufacturing capability aligned with Australia’s national manufacturing priorities. It facilitates the building of strong collaboration and partnerships between industry, higher education providers, government and the CSIRO to work on the problems that matter to the nation.

Through the Trailblazer Universities Program, the Australian Government has provided $50 million each to six trailblazing universities, including Deakin, to become leaders in research commercialisation, with dedicated investment in priority areas. Separately, the government has provided an additional $45 million to CSIRO to provide additional support to Trailblazer Universities and industry through access to cutting-edge equipment and infrastructure.

Deakin University is the administrator of the REACH Trailblazer Program, as defined in the Conditions of Grant Deakin signed with the Australian Government as a recipient of a Trailblazer Universities Program grant.

We are seeking applications from potential partners with innovation projects valued between $2 million and $50 million. All projects must be delivered before 30 June 2027.

A project plan will be developed collaboratively to track milestones throughout the project’s lifecycle. The project duration can be variable; however, all projects should be completed before 30 June 2027.

Deakin’s REACH has business friendly intellectual property provisions built into its partnership model that establishes clear boundaries for sharing and owning intellectual property to ensure that all new technologies are commercialised by your business.

Trailblazer co-funding is available for eligible selected projects to help businesses recover some of the out-of-pocket expenses of accelerating research-led innovation projects.

The Trailblazer co-contribution is paid in arrears on achievement of project milestones and will match your cash investment to 30% of your out-of-pocket expenses.

To be eligible for trailblazer co-funding through REACH your business’s total project value needs to be between $2 million and $50 million, including a research and innovation component between 20-30% of your total project value.

The REACH team will work with you to finalise your research project plan.  Trailblazer co-funding is calculated on every dollar spent up to the agreed amount as part of your project agreement.

Applications should focus on the total cost of the project. If you are successful in the application stage, our team will support you to build a detailed project budget and determine eligibility for Trailblazer co-investment. Cash investment from your business will be what determines this co-investment, while in-kind investment is about driving scale.

The REACH team can work with you during the assessment process to determine what equipment and expertise you require, linking you with researchers located within Deakin’s institutes, faculties and centres, as well as providing access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities at our advanced manufacturing innovation hub located within the ManuFutures precinct, at our partner university Federation University and the CSIRO.

Organisations should submit a single application. Your application should include a summary of all of your projects. The REACH team will contact you for further information necessary for assessment.

The proposals must be developed and led by an industry partner who has an ABN or ACN, based in Australia. One of the core objectives of the Trailblazer Program is to stimulate regional economic activity within Australia.

According to the rules of grants in Australia, you cannot leverage funding from one federal program against another.

Cash and in-kind contributions from partner organisations must be specific to the project and must not be part of a broader contribution to the administering organisation (Deakin) and must not include Commonwealth or state government funding from any other scheme.

If you have concerns, please contact us to discuss your situation.

Yes, although there are specific requirements regarding the purchase of assets. You can contact us for more details.

If your application is successful, the Deakin REACH team will work with you to make sure the project agreement is developed and sufficiently detailed so you can get your project underway as quickly as possible. Once the details are finalised, we will move through to executing project contracts.

We would still love to hear from you as we are building the scale of our REACH clean and green advanced manufacturing ecosystem. So please contact us to express your interest in joining our REACH ecosystem.

The Deakin REACH selection committee will review your application against a wide range of criteria. Some may focus on technical merit, the strategic alignment within the program or university partnering.