New opportunity for funding for projects in the METS sector

METS Ignited has announced Round 4 of its collaborative project funding program — the METS Ignited Collaborative Project Funds. Round 4 is focused on accelerating the adoption of analytics, automation and robotics into Australian METS and mining to grow Australian businesses and create more jobs in domestic supply chains.

The mining industry is being disrupted with analytics, automation and robotics technologies. The full economic, social, environmental and safety benefits of these opportunities will only materialise if a globally competitive domestic supply chain is mobilised in Australia to participate in this transition. Unless the domestic supply chain actively participates, the opportunity to generate billions of dollars in economic, social and environmental benefits, as well as thousands of jobs, will be lost.

Projects must be collaborative and industry-led with clear commercialisation applications that address opportunities in analytics, automation and robotics applied to mining operations. Applications for this round of funding must focus on projects that originate in Australia, have global impact and will deliver substantial benefits to the METS sector.

Under the Project Funds program, METS Ignited is encouraging the development of projects led by a METS company collaborating with at least two other METS companies and working closely with funding from an end user, such as a mining company, system integrator or OEM. Projects supported by researchers as subject matter experts will be highly regarded.

METS Ignited is undertaking a coordinated strategy to ensure Australian METS companies are fully engaged in taking advantage of this opportunity. The four pillars of this strategy are:

• Strengthening collaboration between miners, METS companies, researchers, educators and communities to both innovate and implement new technologies
• Creating and supporting national clusters to deliver the capabilities, innovations, and ongoing products and services into mining operations
• Enhancing the entrepreneurial system to maximise the commercial, social and environmental outcomes of innovation in Australian and global mining supply chains
• Boosting skills and investing in R&D in the niches that will provide Australian METS global advantage
   

Round 4 of the METS Ignited Collaborative Project Funds initiative is fundamental to the delivery of this strategy.

Successful projects must be led by a METS company and ‘collaboration’ is interpreted as requiring the participation of at least two additional METS companies (one applicant METS company collaborating with two others) together with at least one end user or customer that leads to a sustainable benefit for all parties.

This funding opportunity from METS Ignited can be accessed by industry via an expression of interest (EOI) process. More information can be found here.

Applications close on 27 September 2019.