AMGC, ARENA launch $10m fund for industrial decarbonisation

Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) has launched a $10 million fund with the backing from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to help accelerate industrial decarbonisation through co-investment in smaller manufacturing facilities.

The SME Industrial Decarbonisation Fund has been designed to help small-to-medium sized Australian manufacturers reduce their direct greenhouse gas emissions by switching from fossil fuel-powered processes to electric alternatives.

The merit-based fund operates on a first come, first serve basis, and are available to project sizes between $400,000 and $1 million, while projects with a co-investment amount less than $200,000 will be considered on a case-by-case basis, AMGC said.

The initiative will help to upgrade or replace equipment and processes, train workforce, attain updated certification or compliance and share successful deployment across the manufacturing industry through knowledge sharing activities.

Under the co-investment environment, applicants are responsible for the remaining 50%, or more, of eligible project expenditure, and they cannot use funding from other local and state government initiatives to cover the remaining percentage not covered by the fund.

Projects must also clearly demonstrate a pathway to achieving commercial viability and the ability to deliver a measurable reduction in emissions, AMGC said.

The fund will be open for applications until 31 December 2027, and it is expected to close on 31 March 2028.