A fibres researcher from the Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) has taken a share of federal funding – worth more than $59 million – for projects that aim to drive the commercialisation of innovations in areas of national significance.
The Australian Government’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite program is designed to drive innovation in Australia’s strength areas, such as enabling capabilities and renewables and low emission technologies, that were outlined in the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (Priority Areas) Declaration 2023.
Deakin University had four projects funded, including the Perpetual Pigments project led by IFM’s Associate Professor Rangam Rajkhowa alongside Dr Tonya Meyrick, a Senior Lecturer with the School of Communication and Creative Arts.
The project aims to turn textile waste into paint for sustainable coloured products.
Assoc Prof Rajkhowa said the funding would help the project reach a higher technical readiness level, taking it closer to commercialisation.
‘We will use this fund for pre-proof of scale trials to get confidence and overcome technical hurdles prior to proof of scale and establishing a micro-factory for perpetual pigments,’ he said.
‘This research commercialisation funding is crucial to overcome challenges of research translation.’
See the full list of successful projects.
Deakin’s 2025 AEA Ignite projects
Perpetual pigments – textile waste to paint for sustainable coloured products
Assoc Prof Rangam Rajkhowa
$492,754
Overseer: An Artificial intelligence platform for quality assurance in manufacturing
Dr Scott Barnett
$499,667
Quantum Automation for Cyber Defence
Prof Robin Ram Mohan Doss
$499,960
3D Printed High-Performance Electrodes for Sustainable Fuel and Clean Energy Generation Systems
Dr Vipul Gupta
$397,452