IMCRC catalyses over $230 million investment to advance Australian manufacturing
$34 million of Commonwealth and other cash invested in 70 innovative research collaborations
The Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) today announced it has catalysed to date more than $230 million investment in manufacturing innovation, research and development (R&D) across Australia.
The announcement coincides with the release of IMCRC’s Annual Highlights Report, which summarises the CRC’s achievements for the 2020-21 financial year and includes interviews and case studies with executives from leading manufacturing businesses, startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
With a vision for Australian manufacturing to be thriving, relevant and globally integrated, IMCRC has established a unique manufacturing investment portfolio of 70 industry-led R&D projects that delivers a seven-fold multiple on the Commonwealth cash invested. To date, eight projects have been successfully completed, already furthering the collective research outcomes that will bring substantial economic value and high value jobs to Australia’s manufacturing industry.
IMCRC CEO and Managing Director, David Chuter, said the achievements highlighted the CRC’s unwavering commitment to the transformation of Australian manufacturing.
“As an industry-led CRC, we incentivise and enable forward-thinking businesses to collaborate with Australian universities and the CSIRO to develop, scale-up and realise new ideas, products and services. Our business model is designed to catalyse manufacturing innovation and R&D projects of strategic importance to our industry and research partners,” he said.
“It centres around safeguarding government and industry funding by requiring partners to set clear strategic and commercial outcomes from the outset and by putting in place processes to overcome barriers to collaborative success.”
“As more IMCRC projects reach completion, I am optimistic about what could be achieved using the IMCRC business model at scale to drive further Australian manufacturing innovation and transformation, particularly with Australian SMEs, who represent around 80% of our industry project partners.”