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WA Lower Carbon Grants Program - Gorgon Fund

WA Lower Carbon Grants Program – Gorgon Fund

  • Applications will remain open until 11 June 2024.
  • Financial assistance will be allocated individually, with the State contributing between $5 million and $15 million, covering up to 50% of the total project cost.

The Lower Carbon Grants (LCG) Program - Gorgon Fund will support green energy and greentech projects in Western Australia, contributing to a sustainable low carbon future. LCG will fund significant research and innovation activities across industries, technology platforms, and regions that promote practical and effective solutions for decarbonisation.

Key Requirements

The fund aims to provide matched funding for large-scale innovations and to back projects that:
  • deliver broader benefits to the WA community through knowledge sharing, enhanced skills and capability, development of new business opportunities, economic diversification, or regional development
  • result in potential emissions of CO2-e significantly lower than the current average of the most relevant baseline for the activity
  • support decarbonisation in Western Australia.
Successful applicants can receive grants ranging from $5 million to $15 million.

The amount of financial assistance will be determined based on the proposal’s merit and the State’s assessment of value for money.

Financial assistance will be allocated on a case-by-case basis, with a maximum contribution of 50% of the total project cost and a minimum and maximum State contribution of $5 million and $15 million, respectively.

All successful applications receiving financial assistance will be governed by key milestones outlined in a Financial Assistance Agreement (FAA) developed by the State.

Application criteria:
  1. Demonstration of emissions reduction
  2. Potential for wider adoption or application
  3. Contribution to public good
  4. Expected benefits
  5. Departure from common practice
  6. Ongoing commitment
  7. Organisational capacity
  8. Business case
  9. Risk management
  10. Overall project feasibility

What is eligible for funding?

Funding will only cover costs deemed eligible, with all ineligible expenses excluded from funding unless specifically agreed upon in writing by the State and contracted under a Financial Assistance Agreement (FAA).

Applicants must state whether the project will utilise any Australian Government or other State Government funding in the business case and application form. Western Australian Government grant funding may constitute a maximum of 50 percent of total project costs. Eligible expenses will be outlined in the FAA.

Generally, eligible expenses may include costs directly related to project delivery, such as:

  • Capital costs for equipment used for carbon abatement or sequestration.
  • Purchases of new equipment and technology.
  • Essential non-equipment expenses, including design, professional services, transport, installation and commissioning, laboratory testing, and field sampling, related to achieving a project objective or milestone.
  • Project management costs and grant administration expenses.
  • Expenditure on capital or asset investment.
  • Salaries or wages for new jobs created to undertake the specific project or activities for the project’s duration.
  • Expenditure incurred after the project commencement date and consistent with these guidelines.

What companies are eligible for funding?

To be eligible, the applicant must provide evidence of the following:

  1. At the time of entering into a Lower Carbon Project Funding Agreement, the applicant must be an Australian entity incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) and hold an existing ABN.
  2. The officers and members of the management team of the applicant must be fit and proper persons, satisfying the following criteria:
    • No disqualification by law from performing their role.
    • Absence of any conflict of interest or any conflict that may create a material risk of failure to properly perform in their management role.
    • Legal right to carry out and control the project under consideration.
  3. The applicant must not be owned or subject to control by any country or person that is subject to economic sanctions or trade restrictions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, Australian, United Kingdom, Japanese, or United States government; or debarred, excluded, or declared ineligible to participate in Australian or United Kingdom, Japanese, or United States government contracts.
  4. The Lower Carbon Project must primarily take place in Western Australia or have some other substantive link to Western Australia.
  5. The applicant must be a legal and solvent entity, or partnered with a legal and solvent entity, with a proven trading history for the past 3 financial years as accepted in their domicile. Financial statements for the last 3 financial years must include:
    • Income Statements
    • Statement of Financial Position
    • Statement of Cash Flows
    • Statement of Changes in Equity
    • Notes to the Financial Statements (where applicable)
    • Audited financial statements
  6. The applicant must provide a business plan and evidence that supports management, technical, and financial capability to undertake the current proposal. This may include evidence of completed or current projects of similar or greater size.
  7. The applicant must commit financial investment in the form of committed cash, including no less than 50% of the total project cost. This can include financial investment from the applicant and/or its project Partner(s), the private sector, or financial institutions.
  8. A market analysis must detail significant evidence that the project is economically sustainable without further investment by the State.
  9. Commencement of operations, subject to regulatory approvals, must occur within 2 years of the execution of a FAA with the State unless otherwise agreed.
  10. Investment readiness must include some or all of the following:
    • A business and/or project plan and risk register demonstrating project feasibility and delivery, including identified project risks and strategies to manage these risks.
    • Demonstrated capabilities and capacity to execute the proposed project.
    • Project viability, including feasibility studies and due diligence.
    • Commercial viability and sustainability in the absence of any financial incentive.
    • Financial modelling and/or budgeting for the expected project lifecycle, including an assessment of project sustainability beyond the term of agreed financial assistance.
    • Pathway(s) to finance the proposed project.
    • Governance arrangements in place to manage the project.
    • Commitment from the board or other senior levels of appropriate management to proceed further with project planning and implementation.
    • Market analysis indicating sufficient demand for the proposed outputs, including advanced negotiations with customers in the form of purchase or offtake agreements.
    • Competitor analysis for the proposed project.
  11. The project must be legal in Western Australia and comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to, all relevant legislation, regulations, rules, orders, approvals, and regulatory approvals.
  12. Acceptance of the State’s FAA Terms and Conditions.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.