12 WA startups awarded $736,157 in grants

Grants have been announced for 12 companies under the Western Australian government’s Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) and Commercialisation Bridge Grant (CBG) programs.

Funding totalling $736,157 was announced on Monday by state innovation minister Stephen Dawson, made up of $380,157 to 10 IBG recipients and $356,000 to two CBG recipients.

IBG funding is aimed at early-stage businesses – supporting access to research and development, product development and/or commercialisation support services – and CBG is aimed at companies existing between a “commercialised and a sustainable business”.

Funding went to companies including Rapid Inflation Systems, which is developing what it calls “The World’s First Viable Retrofittable Central Tyre Inflation System for 4×4 Vehicles”, Cooperative Research Centre for Honey Bee Products spinout Y-Trace, which offers traceability and authenticity services for honeybee industry, and skincare company Sea Dragon Botanicals, which is developing “circular soap”.

According to Dawson, a quarter of the grant winners were female-founded businesses.

“There were over 230 applications received between the two grant programs, which goes to show how this local ecosystem is burgeoning and is being fed by a great pool of local innovators,” he said.

A full list of recipients is reproduced below

Picture: credit Y-Trace

Innovation Booster Grant recipients

Business Name	Project Title	Grant
Forrest Farm Vets	Autonomous Cattle Eye Disease Detection System	$36,821
Rapid Inflation Systems	Rapid Inflation Systems Retrofittable Central Tyre Inflation System	$40,000
Ocean Hex Pty Ltd	SEED: Enabling large-scale restoration of marine coastal ecosystems	$40,000
Ghost Fire Systems Australia	Blank Firing Simulator Mark 1 (BFS Mk1)	$40,000
QL Space Pty Ltd	Comprehensive Blue Carbon Monitoring: Integrating Ground Truth and Space Data	$40,000
MALDIID Pty Ltd	Implementing digital PCR for fast and reliable assessment of biologicals	$36,336
Sea Dragon Botanicals Pty Ltd	Commercialisation and Market Entry for a Circular Soap	$40,000
Tedology Pty Ltd	Research, Development & Commercialisation of an Emotional Support Teddy Bear & App	$40,000
Innovation Fishing WA Pty Ltd	Innovational Technology to reduce Carbon Emissions and Environmental Impact	$40,000
Y-Trace Pty Ltd	Quantifying the bioactivity of peroxide honey	$27,000

Commercialisation Bridge Grant recipients

Business Name	Project Title	Grant
Agora Square Pty Ltd	Scaling The Agora Platform: Accelerating Team Readiness Through Diversification	$156,000
Facilitate Tech	Project Immerse – enabling powerful immersive learning experiences	$200,000