The NSW Government established the Bushfire Commercialisation Fund (BCF) under the NSW Bushfire Response R&D Mission to accelerate the development, commercialisation and adoption of bushfire technologies and services in NSW.
The objective of the BCF is to enable businesses to:
- progress bushfire technology along the commercialisation pathway, or
- adapt existing technology for use in bushfire management or operations
The BCF targets innovative devices/systems within Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 – 7 to help them move along the TRL scale and enable them to attract large-scale private investment.
The BCF will provide funding support through a competitive process to individuals, companies, research institutes and universities to take local innovations to market.
The total amount of grant funding available for the first round is $8 million.
Further, the Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer is partnering with the Minderoo Foundation on the BCF. There are strong strategic alignments between the Minderoo’s Flood and Fire Initiative and the NSW Bushfire Response R&D Mission. For consenting applicants, the Minderoo Foundation will assess applications at their discretion and may provide additional or separate funding through associated existing programs and/or collaborations that are aligned to their Fire Shield Mission.
Applications for the 2022 BCF have now closed
Guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Important dates
| 19 July 2022 | Preliminary applications open |
| 12 September 2022 | Preliminary applications close |
November 2022 | Shortlisted applicants present to the Expert Panel |
| December 2022 | Final applications requested |
| February 2023 | Final applications close |
| March 2023 | Bushfire Commercialisation Fund Announcement Event |
Please note that dates are subject to change.
Contact
If you have questions regarding the BCF, contact us through:
investment.nsw.gov.au/contact-us/
NSW Deep Tech Commercialisation Training Program – Foundations
For access to a free online training program designed to provide researchers and early-stage companies with key elements of building a successful deep tech business, please sign up here. The program is part of the NSW Deep Tech Commercialisation Training Program (DTCTP) and was designed by Cicada Innovations.