The Federal Government has announced AU$ 20 million in funding for a common user facility at the Australian Space Park as part of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI). The announcement will supplement industry investment into the Australian Space Park by a next-generation connectivity company; a spacecraft solutions provider; an SA-based aerospace company; and an engineering solutions provider. The common user facility will support sovereign space capability development that will enable the development, integration and test of space hardware.
With the Australian Space Agency, Mission Control and a cohort of space start-up companies already based in Adelaide, the Australian Space Park will see South Australia at the forefront of satellite and space component manufacturing. As a natural extension of Lot Fourteen, it will also support space companies to progress from prototyping to production at scale, within proximity of the CBD.
The Federal Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative provides the opportunity to construct a common user facility within the Australian Space Park that will be capable of small constellation manufacturing and enhanced manufacturing capability.
The Australian Space Park will accelerate Australia’s sovereign space manufacturing capability and support the national aim to triple space’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product to $12 billion by 2030.
The Co-Founder and CEO of the next-generation connectivity company, on behalf of the industry consortium, said the addition of the common user facility at Australian Space Park is critical to help grow sovereign capability and boost Australia’s growing reputation for industry capability within the global Space and advanced aerospace sectors. She noted that the shared facility must have the capacity to support not just the South Australian industry, but the Australian space industry as a whole.
The Federal Government supporting the vision and the strategy of South Australia puts Australia on the international space map. Manufacturing for space is a complicated task so having Federal Government support means the consortium can now further develop their manufacturing capability and ultimately, satellite launching capacity. The establishment of the Australian Space Park was announced in December 2021, with the facility to be based close to Adelaide Airport, in partnership with four space companies.
More about the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI)
The Australian Government has announced a $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) and the National Manufacturing Priorities.
Modern Manufacturing Initiative
The $1.3 billion MMI will drive lasting change for Australian manufacturers. It will help Australian manufacturers:
- scale-up
- collaborate
- commercialise
It will unlock private sector investment and support manufacturers to deliver on the world stage.
The MMI will provide co-funding for large manufacturing projects that have broad sectoral benefits across the National Manufacturing Priorities. It will unlock private sector investment across three targeted streams.
- Manufacturing Collaboration Stream
- Manufacturing Translation Stream
- Manufacturing Integration Stream
All streams will operate on a co-investment basis. Eligible applicants will be confined to trading corporations. There will be no specific business size requirements, and funding will be focused on supporting businesses to scale.
To further boost Australian manufacturing the Modern Manufacturing Strategy will focus on areas of comparative advantage and strategic importance. The National Manufacturing Priorities are:
- Resources Technology & Critical Minerals Processing
- Food & Beverage
- Medical Products
- Recycling & Clean Energy
- Defence
- Space
