Energy Innovation Fund: Questions and Answers

Discover how to craft a successful grant application by watching this panel discussion with the Energy Innovation Fund Industry Advisory Board members. Recorded at the Energy Innovation Exhibition, the panellists share insights elements they look for, some things to avoid and how to make your project stand out.

The Energy Innovation Fund Policy Challenge Grant supports innovative solutions to accelerate the energy transition. The 2025 Policy Challenge themes are optimising the orchestration of consumer energy resources and pathways to repurpose gas infrastructure and explore green gas use. Ken Baldwin, Chair of the Energy Innovation Fund Industry Advisory Board, and the ACT Government’s Climate Change and Energy Policy team members discussed the 2025 Policy Challenge Grant themes in an online webinar.

To be eligible for a new grant from the Energy Innovation Fund, your organisation must have satisfactorily completed all outstanding grant milestones, reporting requirements, and financial obligations from previous funding. This includes any current Deeds of Grant administered by the ACT Government.

After the application deadline, the ACT Government will conduct eligibility checks before an application is assessed. Failure to meet the eligibility requirements will result in the application not being assessed.

Yes. Multiple teams from the same organisation can apply for and receive Energy Innovation Fund grants for different projects at the same time.

Yes. A team can apply for and receive multiple Energy Innovation Fund grants for different projects.

To be eligible, your organisation must be ACT-based, OR the majority of the proposed funded activities must occur within the ACT.

The Fund allows applications from outside the ACT, provided they can demonstrate lasting benefits to the Territory. For example, for the Policy Challenge Stream, a university from Melbourne may apply, but their proposal must focus on ACT-specific outcomes and any related activities (such as workshops, stakeholder engagement, trials etc) must be based in the ACT.

Yes. Recipients can reapply for another Innovation Ecosystem Grant (Stream 3) to continue support activities once the previous grant expires.

Expenses not directly related to the project, such as administrative costs, labour costs, or costs for expendable (e.g., office stationery) and non-expendable assets (e.g., computers, vehicles), are not covered.

If equipment/resources are used for activities beyond the project, the eligible expenditure section must be adjusted in proportion to the project's direct relevance.

Yes. Costs for acquiring, registering, or licensing intellectual property or technology within the project duration are covered, excluding legal costs for patent protection.

No. The Business Accelerator Grant is for ACT-based innovations.

Yes. Grants can support commercialisation processes. The Business Accelerator Grant (Stream 3) supports commercialisation, and some early-stage commercialisation activities can be included in a Technology Demonstration Grant (Stream 1).

The Policy Challenge Grant (Stream 2) supports the advancement in ACT’s energy transition policy. We welcome applications from the business sector, regulatory experts, as well as think tanks and research institutions that focus on the stated policy challenge each year.

Applications for the Policy Challenge Grant are open year-round; however, the grant theme will change every year and are announced on the Energy Innovation Funds page. Applications for the grant under the current theme close on 31 December each year.

To be eligible for the Energy Innovation Fund, an applicant must be an ACT-based organisation OR the majority of the proposed funded activities must occur within the ACT.

All eligible applications will be assessed on the merit criteria which are listed in Section 9 of the Guidelines [PDF 4.9 MB].

No. Research Institutes are only eligible if they partner with a business (with an independent ABN, and as the lead applicant) for the Technology Demonstration Grant (Stream 1) and/or for the Innovation Ecosystem Grant (Stream 3).

Organisations can apply for funding between:

• $50,000 and $1,000,000 (excluding GST) per grant for the Technology Demonstration Grant (Stream 1)
• $20,000 and $500,000 (excluding GST) per grant for the Policy Challenge Grant (Stream 2)
• $30,000 and $300,000 (excluding GST) per grant for the Innovation Ecosystem Grant (Stream 3)

No. Projects funded by Energy Innovation Fund Grants must align with the following funding scope of research and education in science, engineering and social sciences, and business sectors:

• Renewable energy generation
• Energy storage
• Power generation asset management
• Distributed energy resources (DER) and market integration
• Electrification in the transport, residential and commercial sectors
• Renewable hydrogen
• Energy efficiency and demand management solutions
• Digital enabling technologies for the energy transition
• Distribution and transmission network operations

Please refer to Appendix A in the Guidelines [PDF 4.9 MB] for additional details of the funding scope.

Yes. In-kind contributions count towards the 1:1 matched co-contribution that is required for the Technology Demonstration Grant (Stream 1). However, higher cash contributions will be viewed favourably during assessment.

Yes. Territory employees can be referees. In line with the ACT Government’s Conflict of Interest (CoI) management practices, all reasonable steps to avoid a CoI will be followed through during the Grant assessment process.

Yes. The SmartyGrants platform allows the applicant to submit additional documentation as part of their application. Additional documentation may consist of, but is not limited to, a full proposal report, letters of recommendation and/or past project references. It is optional to provide additional documentation, and there are no specific requirements on the nature and format.

It is recommended to include a detailed data management plan in the proposal that clearly outlines proposed data-sharing and data-handling arrangements. The application would be stronger if agreements with key stakeholders are secured prior to applying.

All material submitted is provided in confidence. Details of applications will not be made available to third parties without permission. For more details, please refer to the Confidentiality Clause in Section 13 in the Guidelines [PDF 4.9 MB].