Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development
The Honourable Andrew Fraser

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Funding helps turn ‘eureka’ moments into Queensland jobs

Queensland inventors and researchers have been given new funding from the Bligh Government to turn their ideas into businesses and jobs.

Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development Andrew Fraser said the State Government’s Proof of Concept Fund would help four companies and four universities translate their ideas into dollars and jobs for Queensland.

“We have allocated $2.2 million in new funding to develop Queensland ideas and research,” Mr Fraser said.

“Without this government support, our inventors and researchers could have moved their discoveries offshore or taken much longer to progress to the commercialisation stage.

“Our funding will help secure new technologies and new jobs for Queensland.”

Mr Fraser said smaller firms and university researchers often found the leap from workshop to shopfront financially crippling.

“We can’t let these ‘eureka’ moments go by – our economy’s growth is dependent on our ability to work better, faster and smarter,” he said.

“With this program, we’re supporting the firms and researchers who have developed concepts with potential to succeed – we’re ensuring our ideas remain in Queensland and Queenslanders benefit.”

The four companies selected to receive proof of concept funding by a panel of experts are:

• Kaon Consulting from Slacks Creek – $50,000 to continue development of an electrical switching device, known as the Fuse Saver, to help prevent overhead powerline fuses from blowing, thereby reducing power outages

• Dev-Audio from Southport – $50,000 to continue development of an intelligent microphone device to improve sound quality for meetings and teleconferences and improve meeting recording technology and speech-to-text translation

• Ironbar from Paddington – $50,000 to continue developing a prototype for an automated tool to fasten concrete reinforcing bars. The aim is that the automatic tying will be at least as strong as manual ties, but do the job faster and with less manual effort – the concrete industry’s answer to the “nail gun”

• Environmental Refrigeration Alternatives from Malanda in north Queensland – $50,000 to design, produce, test and evaluate an early-stage prototype of a new refrigeration system that is more cost-effective and energy efficient than current models on the market and able to operate in remote locations.

Mr Fraser said Queensland’s universities were also receiving support through the fund.

“They will use their funding to develop and expand programs within their universities that support researchers and research groups and help them demonstrate the commercial potential of their research and ideas,” he said.

“It will directly help to bridge the gap that stops great ideas progressing from the laboratory bench to a stage where they are attractive to the private sector funding to carry them through to the market place.”

The successful university recipients are: University of Queensland – $995,000; Queensland University of Technology – $375,000; Griffith University – $350,000; and James Cook University (Townsville ) – $280,000.

The Proof of Concept Fund is part of the Queensland Government’s $91 million Smart Futures Fund, which was established to support innovators and innovation across all sectors of industry.

Media contact:
Treasurer's office - 3224 5982 or 3224 6361

Company contacts:
Kaon Consulting – Dr Brett Watson, Director, 3209 5815, 0433 844 824
Dev-Audio – Dr Iain McCowan, Managing Director, 0434 167 363
Ironbar – Mr Brian Jones, Director, 0417 721 467
ERA – Mr Brendan Graham, Director, 0415 672 637

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