Early Commercialisation Fund

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Science and Information Economy. Can the minister update the chamber on the South Australian Early Commercialisation Fund?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for his question and the interest he and a number of other members of this chamber show in innovation programs in South Australia. The government has established the $10 million South Australian Early Commercialisation Fund (SAECF), which forms part of a suite of innovation initiatives announced in the 2016-17 state budget.

This is a four-year program with funding provided until 2019-20. The SAECF was launched on 18 November 2016 to invest in innovative early-stage high-growth companies with national and global market potential that will benefit the South Australian economy. The fund, which is administered by TechInSA, provides eligible companies and organisations with tranched grants of up to $500,000. Interest in the fund continues to be high, and, as of 11 September this year, TechInSA had received more than 313 expressions of interest. Grants have been approved for 35 companies through the program. It is anticipated, based on estimates from participating companies, that in excess of 400 new jobs might be created over the next two years through these grants.

There are many exciting companies that have recently been approved for funding through the program, one of which is an Adelaide company developing the capability for the commercial manufacture of solar-powered drones. The team at Praxis Aeronautics recently received approval for $150,000 in support. The company has created a process by which solar cells can be incorporated into a composite material, like the body of a drone. I understand that the current offering in the market of petrol-powered drones is expensive to both purchase and maintain, while current electric drones have quite limited flight duration.

The solar-powered drone technology developed by Praxis will have the benefit of extending flight duration, and the company believes that drones could be used for a number of purposes, environmental management mapping, defence and humanitarian being amongst them. The funding provided will support the scaling up of the systems and production facilities of the company to allow for the manufacture of full-scale solar-powered drones in South Australia.

Another company to receive funding recently is Silentium Defence Proprietary Limited. Silentium have been approved to receive $200,000 in funding from the South Australian Early Commercialisation Fund to support bringing to market their new silent radar technology. The technology has the potential to be useful in both defence and civil areas, protecting soldiers and managing commercial air traffic movement.

I understand the company's defensive passive radar technologies use a silent sensor to locate objects, eliminating the chances of large radio signals being detected by enemy troops. The innovative product uses radio frequency energy to map out an environment. The government understands that the defence industry is one of our strengths in South Australia and will be one of the big industries, going forward. We are pleased to be assisting Silentium Defence to bring its game-changing passive radar technology to market, with the potential to help protect our troops serving overseas and being used for training purposes here. This grant will be used for the production of prototypes for testing to take the company to the next stage of growth.

The South Australian Early Commercialisation Fund continues to provide financial assistance to entrepreneurs and innovators looking to develop their ideas here in South Australia and get their products to market. The government is committed to delivering support to emerging South Australian companies through programs like the SA Early Commercialisation Fund.