Major boost for minerals, climate change, carbon storage and poultry

Research into minerals exploration, climate change, greenhouse gas technologies and poultry has received a major funding boost of $96.1 million under the latest round of the Australian government’s Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program.

CRCs foster long-term, collaborative arrangements between researchers from CSIRO, universities and other government laboratories and private industry or public sector agencies.

CSIRO contributes equipment and research management skills and helps supervise the development of approximately 100 postgraduate research students each year.

The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr, announced funding for 10 CRCs in the 11th selection round.

A new CRC, which will see CSIRO’s Minerals Down Under Flagship partner with the University of Adelaide and Curtin University of Technology, will be launched to help lower the cost of finding minerals in Australia.

The Deep Exploration Technologies CRC (DETCRC), which will receive $28 million, acknowledges that the most significant challenge to Australia’s mining industry is to find new resources to replace those now being mined.

Without new resources, one of our most valuable export industries could slowly fade away.

The CRC, which will be based in Adelaide, will boost the exploration industry in Australia by helping to develop new drilling technologies, better ways of getting more valuable information from drill holes and new targeting strategies.

Other successful grants involving CSIRO researchers are:

The Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems CRC (ACE CRC), which sees CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research partner with 22 other organisations, including the Australian Antarctic Division and the University of Tasmania, to investigate critical scientific uncertainties that limit Australia’s and the global community’s ability to respond effectively to the challenges of climate change.

A $20.1 million extension grant will assist effective mitigation and adaptation to climate change, which requires an ability to anticipate future change with a level of detail and confidence that can only be achieved through an improved understanding of the climate system.

CSIRO’s coal researchers will continue to work with partners in the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), which focuses on carbon capture and storage technologies, after a $20 million injection.

CSIRO Livestock Industries will work collaboratively in the Poultry CRC (PCRC), which will use the $28 million grant extension to help Australia achieve sustainable, ethical poultry production.

For further Information see: http://www.csiro.au/org/CSIRO-and-CRC-Program.html.