Why R&D?
Cooperative research & development projects
RACE for 2030 is the cooperative research centre for the energy and carbon transformation. We have up to $350M of resources to invest in innovation in this space. By working with RACE you can make your product development and innovation funds go further, as we can leverage your investment 2-3+ times.
We do that through collaborative partner organisations, matching industry funding along with funding and in kind contributions from research partners. We can help you to access the best researchers across multi-disciplinary fields from 9 major institutions across Australia to deliver your research needs.
Please download our leverage calculator to explore how your innovation funds can be leveraged doing cooperative research. Your R&D funds will have funds from other industry partners, our research partners and RACE added to them.
Combined funding allows RACE to invest up to $350m of total resources through to 2030
In late 2023 investment to date is 82 projects contracted totalling $43m.
Our 9 research partners
R&D project pathways
There are three ways you can participate in RACE’s 5 programs of R&D to accelerate your energy transition:
- Develop your own R&D project
- Participate in a RACE Project as a partner or a pilot
- Be part of multiple R&D Projects
Project pathways
You develop your R&D project starting with an expression of interest, and then move through development, application and contracting. Please keep in mind:
- this can take 4-16 weeks depending on size of project
- projects approved quickly usually have a strong internal in-house team with clear research objectives. RACE and identified researchers can assist in developing these.
- The other key components are industry partners and an innovation budget identified.
Benefits
R&D investment
Innovation with RACE starts with a meeting to discuss your objectives, possible projects and partners.
From there your partnership and your project development process occur in parallel as the image below shows.
The partnership process usually occurs with your commercial and legal team, whilst project development occurs with your operational, strategic, and innovation team.
Use our leverage calculator to see how an annual investment of $40,000 cash can turn into a $1 million cash + in-kind R&D project with one other industry partner. With three industry partners it can be a $2 million project.
Investment process
Read more
Click on a brochure to find out more information about RACE, investing in innovation with us or one of our priority projects currently under way and looking for additional use case pilots. Please see the bottom of this page for some FAQs.
“The Energy Efficiency Council is thrilled to be partnering with RACE for 2030 and its many industry and research partners as we work towards putting supply and demand on an equal footing to deliver least cost solutions to Australian households and businesses.”
– Holly Taylor, Energy Efficiency Council
Our partners
Frequently Asked Questions
How is our R&D investment leveraged?
- Your R&D investment has funds and in-kind contributions added to it by RACE, research partners and other industry partners involved in your project.
- One quick example is if you invest $40,000 pa cash for a three year project and there is one other industry partner in the project, this could be a $1m research project (cash + in-kind) over 3 years.
- If you were to invest $40,000 pa for three years with three other industry partners this could become a $2m project.
- The more you invest, like most things, the more you leverage and the more return on your R&D you are able to realise for funding projects.
How are RACE projects funded?
- Each project budget cash contributions will typically be a ratio of 20%:40%:40% research: industry: RACE. The research and industry components of this can comprise multiple organisations as relevant to accommodate the collaborative project partners.
- The project budget in-kind contributions aim to be double the project cash expenses.
What are In-kind contributions and how are they recorded?
In-kind contributions are non-cash contributions that partners provide to RACE for 2030 for use in the evaluation of projects and or use in projects. It could be staff, equipment, data, office space or Intellectual Property (IP).
In-kind contributions from research and industry partners makes up a large portion of our total funding. To ensure there is a proportional use of in-kind contributions, the aim is that all projects have in-kind contributions that are double the cash project expenses.
When an organisation joins RACE, it estimates the in-kind contributions it will contribute during the partnership period. This will be confirmed prior to projects commencing (if the in-kind is used in the project) and at the end of the year for audit purposes.
What is the PhD program and who can participate?
How is Intellectual Property managed?
Can RACE fund CAPEX?
What is the R&D tax incentive?
Who can join RACE?
RACE has a full complement of nine Australian research organisations.
RACE funds research by industry partners: governments, associations and commercial organisations. The size of your contribution depends on your research interests and the contribution that is right for the strengths of an organisation. We are interested in talking with industry partners you are working with who might be a beneficial partner to your project or who has research interests aligned with RACE.
Can international organisations join RACE?
For all enquiries please contact: Maryanne Cantwell – maryanne.cantwell@racefor2030.com.au
Seamas Kenny (QLD) – seamas.kenny@racefor2030.com.au
Melissa Muller (SA) – melissa.muller@racefor2030.com.au