Industry minister Ed Husic has announced co-investment into a further six projects under the final tranche of the Commercialisation Fund.
The six from Queensland, Victoria and South Australia will share $2,120,496 in federal funding to bring their innovations to market and generate commercial outcomes.
When paired with industry contributions and in-kind funding the final tranche of the Commercialisation Fund will inject $9.18 million into the manufacturing industry.
The biggest grant went to The Hygiene Co. Pty Ltd which received $644,728 to develop an automated wet wipe conversion and packaging plant to to produce plastic-free compostable wet wipes at a lower price than imports.
The plant, at Woodville North in Adelaide, will be the first of its kind in Australasia with a capacity to provide plastic free wet wipes in soft packs, canisters and bulk rolls.
Husic made the announcement during the opening ceremony for a state-of-the-art facility to produce plant-based proteins in Western Sydney.
The Harvest B facility at Penrith is Australia’s first plant-based meat ingredient manufacturer, and will process locally sourced grains suitable for the manufacture of plant-based meat products.
Harvest B Co-founder and CCO Alfred Lo (pictured) said: “When investigating the plant-based protein market, it became apparent that there was not a single large-scale ingredient brand supplying high-quality, locally made plant proteins to Australian food manufacturers.
“Now food manufacturers have the option to source locally developed products leveraging local inputs rather than resorting to international suppliers.”
Harvest B estimates the new facility will also deliver about 30 new jobs in Western Sydney, as well as opportunities for the nation’s farmers and agribusinesses.
The company received $1 million in co-investment from the Government’s $30 million Commercialisation Fund, administered by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) in June 2021 to build the new facility.
The six companies awarded grants under the Commercialisation Fund are:
Picture: Alfred Lo