What is the Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock?
The Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock is a grant opportunity to reduce emissions while supporting economic growth and job creation, as outlined in the Technology Investment Roadmap. The Government has identified livestock feed supplements as a promising emerging technology in the Low Emissions Technology Statement 2021.
Objectives
The objectives of the Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock are to:
- fast-track the development and commercial readiness of technology solutions to deliver low emission feed supplements to grazing animals at large-scale (considering market reach and productivity and abatement impacts), with a particular emphasis on solutions that have the potential to increase the productivity of the national herd and grazing production systems
- collect data on the productivity (including labour productivity) and abatement impacts from low emissions feed supplements delivered using technology solutions to grazing animals, to inform updates to the livestock emissions framework
- engage and collaborate with livestock producers to ensure technology solutions can be implemented in a cost-effective (and ideally productivity-enhancing) way within common grazing management operations and build market interest and acceptance
- leverage co-investment to develop, validate and demonstrate the technology solutions.
The intended outcomes are:
- cost-effective (and ideally productivity-enhancing) technology solutions for delivering low emission feed supplements to grazing animals are available for voluntary adoption by livestock producers in a range of Australian production systems
- the reduced emissions from delivering low emission feed supplements to grazing animals using the technology solutions can be estimated in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Funding Stages
Stage 2: Feasibility and Development
Stage 2: Feasibility and Development grants aim to determine the feasibility of new and / or repurposed technology solutions to deliver low emission feed supplements to grazing animals. This includes designing and developing prototypes, verifying the technology solution works through small-scale trials with low emission feed supplements (or analogous proxies) and assessing their commercial and abatement potential and productivity (including labour productivity) impacts.
For Stage 2: Feasibility and Development Grants, $5 million is available. The grant amount will be up to 100 per cent of eligible project expenditure.
- The minimum grant amount is $250,000.
- The maximum grant amount is $1 million.
Stage 3: Validation and Demonstration
Stage 3: Validation and Demonstration grants aim to validate and demonstrate the technology solution through large-scale trials that incorporate low emission feed supplements. This includes demonstrating the technology’s effectiveness at delivering a reliable dose, identifying any safety concerns, and measuring and validating the
productivity (including labour productivity) and emissions impacts under conditions representative of commercial production systems. Trial results and market research will inform a commercialisation plan.
Stage 3 Validation and Demonstration grants will be available in two rounds:
- Stage 3 Round 1 Grants are not available to recipients of Stage 2 grants for the same technology solution.
- Stage 3 Round 2 Grants will be open to Stage 2 grant recipients to progress their Stage 2 technology solution and to new applicants.
For Stage 3: Validation and Demonstration Grants, $15 million is available over two application rounds. Up to $6 million is available for Stage 3 Round 1 grants. The grant amount will be up to 67 per cent of eligible project expenditure
- The minimum grant amount is $1 million (minimum eligible project expenditure is $1,492,538).
- The maximum grant amount is $3 million.
Eligible Projects
Stage 2: Feasibility and Development
To be eligible for Stage 2 your project must:
- involve a study demonstrating the feasibility of your new and / or repurposed technology solution for delivering low emission feed supplements to grazing animals. The technology solution must include the physical mechanism for administering supplements to grazing animals.
- be aimed at demonstrating and estimating the productivity (including labour productivity) impacts and abatement potential of your new and or repurposed technology solution, and
- have at least $250,000 in eligible expenditure.
Eligible activities may include:
- designing and developing a prototype of your technology solution
- demonstrating the technical viability of your technology solution by conducting small-scale trials with low emission feed supplements or analogous proxies
- assessing the commercial, abatement and productivity (including labour productivity) improvement potential of your technology solution. This could include engaging external professionals, to determine the market opportunity, develop a draft business model, identify potential partners, develop an intellectual property strategy, identify capital sources
- activities that assist in the collection or provision of data or research that is directly relevant to your feasibility study.
Eligible expenditure items are:
- salaries and on-costs for personnel directly employed for the project activities
- staff training that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes
- contract expenditure, i.e. the cost of any agreed project activities that you contract to others
- purchase or hire of equipment directly related to delivering your project, including prototype expenditure, enteric emissions measurement equipment, computing equipment and software
- other trial expenses
- domestic travel limited to the reasonable cost of accommodation and transportation required to conduct agreed project and collaboration activities in Australia
- project expenses relevant to the completion of a feasibility study.
Stage 3: Validation and Demonstration
To be eligible your project must:
- involve large-scale trials using your technology solution to deliver low emission feed supplements to grazing animals under an Australian operational environment to:
- validate and demonstrate the productivity impacts, effectiveness and safety of the technology solution
- collect data on the productivity and abatement impacts and provide the data to the department for informing updates to the Livestock Emissions Framework.
- involve validation and demonstration activities conducted in Australia
- publish (or have submitted for publishing) outcomes of validation and demonstration activities in a peer-reviewed publication
- involve engagement and collaboration with livestock producers to ensure technology solutions can be implemented in a cost-effective way within common grazing management operations
- develop a commercialisation plan for how the technology solution would be scaled up and brought to market
- have at least $1,492,538 million in eligible expenditure.
Eligible activities may include:
- trials to validate and demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the technology solution under relevant environments, including collecting data on productivity (including labour productivity impacts) and abatement impacts
- working with livestock producers to plan, design, construct and conduct trials in an Australian operational environment
- preparing, publishing, presenting or otherwise disseminating project data and outcomes to inform stakeholders of the outcomes of project trials.
Eligible expenditure items are:
- labour for personnel directly employed for the project activities and on-costs to 30% of the total eligible labour costs
- staff training that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes
- contract expenditure, i.e. the cost of any agreed project activities that you contract to others
- purchase or hire of equipment directly related to delivering your project, including enteric emissions measurement equipment, computing equipment and software
- project input expenses, including animals, feed and supplements
- construction costs for creating trial sites, including purchasing materials, fencing, planning, construction and maintenance
- domestic travel limited to 10% of the total eligible project expenditure, for the cost of accommodation and transportation required to conduct agreed project and collaboration activities in Australia
- the cost of an independent audit of project expenditure up to a maximum of 1% of total eligible project expenditure.
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible for the Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock you must:
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
and be one of the following entities:
- an entity, incorporated in Australia
- a co-operative
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
- a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO) as defined in section 14
- an Australian State/Territory Government agency or body.
Joint applications are acceptable and encouraged. To submit a joint application you must have a, lead organisation who is the main driver of the project and is eligible to apply. For further information on joint applications, refer to section 7.2 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines.
Timing
Applications for Stage 2: Feasibility and Development Grants close 18 March 2022.
Applications for Stage 3: Validation and Demonstration Round 1 open 26 April 2022.
