Sparc Technologies Limited and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT)’s sodium ion battery materials project has received $384,271 in funding under the Australian Government’s Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) grant.
The funding will accelerate laboratory testing of bio-waste-derived hard carbon anode materials for sodium ion batteries using a faster, less energy-intensive processing method. The funding was selected from numerous proposals in Tranche 2, reflecting the competitive nature of the round. The cash grant will support the project for 12 months, with Sparc’s financial and in-kind commitment within budget and funded from existing cash resources.
“We are very pleased with the award of grant funding for QUT and Sparc’s sodium ion battery materials project. This is Sparc’s second successful grant application from the highly competitive AEA Seed round which is testament to the strength of our projects and our collaborations with leading Australian universities,” Sparc Technologies Executive Chairman Stephen Hunt said.
“This funding will enable the research team to accelerate workstreams in relation to the testing of full sodium-ion cells and the scale up of processing equipment in the lab, generating data which will be used to advance discussions with industry players and potential customers, that are developing on alternative to lithium-ion batteries,” he added.
The Australian Government has invested A$1.6 billion in the research commercialisation ecosystem for the AEA program, which will run from 2023 to 2032, as part of its University Research Commercialisation Action Plan, aiming to accelerate the commercialisation of Australia’s leading research in the university sector.
