TOP 10 CRC BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATIONS
Now in their 27th year, the Cooperative Research Centres are leading innovation outcomes in Australia, reports Penny Pryor.
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THE CURE TECHNOLOGY/PROGRAM: PRMT5 inhibitors CANCER THERAPEUTICS CRC cancercrc.com
IMPACT: The Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTx), with its UK-based commercialisation partner, Cancer Research Technology, has licensed rights to a program of small molecule drugs called PRMT5 inhibitors to MSD (Merck in the US and Canada) in a multimillion-dollar deal. PRMT5 drugs have clinical potential in both cancer and non-cancer blood disorders. The deal involved an upfront payment of $21 million and potential payments in excess of $700 million. A minimum of 70% of those payments will be returned to CTx.
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SAVING EVERY DROP TECHNOLOGY/PROGRAM: Aquarevo CRC FOR WATER SENSITIVE CITIES watersensitivecities.org.au
IMPACT: Each of the 44 homes in Australia’s first water sensitive community, Aquarevo, in Lyndhurst, Victoria, requires approximately 70% less mains water than a regular suburban house. The homes catch, filter and treat most of their own water supply. Houses are plumbed with three types of water – drinking, recycled and rainwater – which means drinking water won’t be flushed down the toilet. The project was developed in conjunction with Villawood properties and South East Water.
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INNOVATION IN EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY/PROGRAM: RoXplorer® DEEP EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY CRC detcrc.com.au
IMPACT: The new RoXplorer® will help access previously hard to locate greenfields (unchartered) mineral deposits beneath the barren surface rocks, which obscure mineralised rocks in about 80% of Australia. RoXplorer® will drill at around one sixth the cost of conventional diamond drilling techniques and be much safer. This will help reverse a two decades old trend which has seen Australia’s share of the world’s expenditure on mineral exploration drop from one quarter to one eighth.
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DRIVING ON EMPTY TECHNOLOGY/PROGRAM: eBus EXCELLERATE AUSTRALIA (AUTOMOTIVE AUSTRALIA 2020 CRC) excellerateaustralia.com
IMPACT: A partnership of the AutoCRC, Swinburne University of Technology’s Electric Vehicle Laboratory and Bustech (part of Transit Australia Group), this is the first electric bus to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia. The buses are, on average, 80% cheaper to maintain than the current diesel buses. Each seat has a USB charger for mobile devices and the buses seat 50 passengers. Late last year, Bustech signed a deal to produce buses for the South Australian government.
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