The Lower Carbon Grants Program - Gorgon Fund will support green energy and greentech projects in Western Australia in support of a sustainable low carbon future.

Lower Carbon Grants (LCG) – Gorgon Fund provides funding for large research and innovation activities across industries that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions or test, demonstrate and deploy technologies that support lower carbon projects.

The purpose of the fund is to provide matched funding for innovations at scale and to support projects which: 

• 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 being substantially lower than the current average of the most relevant baseline for the activity
• and support decarbonisation in Western Australia

Successful applications can receive grants of between $5 million and $15 million.

Applicants must declare whether the project will leverage any Australian Government or other State Government funding in the business case and application form.

Western Australian Government grant funding may comprise a maximum of 50 percent of total project costs.

Eligible costs will be agreed in the FAA. Generally, eligible costs may include costs directly associated with the delivery of the project, for example:

• capital costs of equipment used for carbon abatement or sequestration.
• purchases of new equipment and technology
• essential non-equipment expenditure including design, professional services, transport, installation and commissioning, laboratory testing, field sampling, related to the attainment of a project objective or milestone
• project management costs and grant administration costs
• expenditure on capital/asset investment
• salaries/wages for new jobs created to undertake the specific project or activities for the period of the project
• expenditure incurred post the project commencement date and consistent with these guidelines

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 have an existing ABN.
2. The officers and members of the management team of the applicant must be fit and proper persons by reference to:
   • No disqualification by law from performing their role
   • No conflict of interest or any conflict that may create a material risk that they will fail to properly perform in their management role
   • Their 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 or excluded or declared ineligible to participate in Australian or United Kingdom, Japanese or United States government contracts.
4. That the Lower Carbon Project will take place primarily in Western Australia or have some other substantive link to Western Australia.
5. The applicant is 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 (as a minimum). 
   • 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 can provide a business plan and evidence that supports management, technical and financial capability to undertake the current proposal. This may also include evidence of completed or current projects of similar or greater size.
7. 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. Market analysis detailing significant evidence that the project is economically sustainable without further investment by the State.
9. Commencement of operations, subject to regulatory approvals, within 2 years of the execution of a FAA with the State unless otherwise agreed. 
10. Investment readiness which includes some or all of the following:
    • A business and/or project plan and risk register which clearly demonstrates 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.
    • Identifies 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 that indicates sufficient demand for the proposed outputs, including advanced negotiations with customers in the form of purchase or off-take 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. Accept the State’s FAA Terms and Conditions.

• Email: LCG@jtsi.wa.gov.au