The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator has awarded more than $60 million in long-term R&D contracts to local quantum and defence tech companies, universities and the CSIRO.
Analog Quantum Circuits, QuantX Labs and Q-CTRL are among the local startups to score contracts under the oversubscribed Emerging and Disruptive Technologies program.
A total of 21 projects have been funded as part of the $60 million investment, which represents the biggest spend by the Defence accelerator since it was set up in July 2023.
ACSA, which has faced criticism over the speed of its missions in recent weeks, went looking for long-term research into quantum and counter disinformation in November 2023 to complement its missions program.
By the time initial procurement closed in February, the accelerator had received nearly 180 proposals, some of which would go on to be tested in co-design workshops with Defence.
Of the 21 projects awarded funding, quantum and defence tech companies secured 10, with the remaining 11 awarded to universities (10) and the national science agency CSIRO (1).
Infleqtion, a US-based quantum firm setting up operations in Victoria thanks to a investment by Breakthrough Victoria, scored the largest contract ( $3.3m), followed by Queensland-based Analog Quantum Circuits at just under $3 million.
Adelaide-based startup QuantX Labs, which produces state-of-the-art quantum optical atomic clocks and has existing contracts with Defence, picked up two contracts: One for $3.26 million and the other for $3.15 million.
DeteQt, Australia’s newest quantum sensing startup, also scored a contract ($3.29 million), as did Lockheed Martin Australia ($3.29m), Q-CTRL ($3.28m), Diamond Defence ($3.22m), Consunet ($3.15m) and Nomad Atomics ($2.46 million).
Australian universities were equally well represented, with Monash University, the University of Technology Sydney, University of Adelaide, University of NSW, University of South Australia and University of Western Australia all securing contracts.
Monash University, UTS, the University of Adelaide and UNSW all picked up two contracts, worth a combined $6.47 million, $5.94 million, $5.08 million and $4.29 million, respectively.
Defence Industry minister Pat Conroy said the “cutting-edge research and development and capability delivery” underway will provider Australian warfighters with “asymmetric advantage on the battlefield”.
“In uncertain strategic circumstances, we must harness our national ingenuity and technology advances to deter hostile acts against Australia and in our region,” Mr Conroy said.
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