Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the University of Newcastle this week to announce $20.7 million in funding to develop a ‘Future Industries Facility’ at the university’s Callaghan Campus.
The Future Industries Facility will bring undergraduate students, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and communities from across the Hunter together to upskill people in Australia’s energy, resources and manufacturing sectors, as well as test and scale-up new technology for the net zero economy.
The funding is part of the Australian Government’s Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. Projections show that it will contribute more than $160 million annually to the Hunter region’s economy and create 740 direct and indirect jobs.
University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky AO says the Future Industries Facility is the next step in the region’s transformation.
“Our university has been part of this community for 60 years and we’ve always been a connector between research, industry, education and our local people. That’s a real strength and we know that working together is how we all achieve our goals, so we’re enormously grateful that the Australian Government has backed us to use this investment to help our region for the future.
“This crucial new initiative will enable us to boost regional development and develop nationally significant technology to help us achieve net zero and create jobs in our region,” says Zelinsky.
“We’ve listened to businesses and understand the barriers they face in testing, piloting, and scaling their ideas. This new facility will provide the missing link on the pathway between idea and commercialisation for SMEs.”

Zelinsky says “it will meet three critical needs – the need for technology innovation, for decarbonised energy resources and manufacturing, and the need for skills, at scale”.
Funding from the investment will support two 1250sqm and 1500sqm industrial-scale research translation and demonstration spaces allowing multiple (up to 16) academic-industry partnerships to trial and test new enabling technologies from the research phase to market inception. An accompanying Career Ready Placement Program will be an industry academy for students with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and First Nations participation.
“The Future Industries Facility will build on Newcastle’s vital role as an industrial powerhouse and source of skilled workers,” says Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King.
The project is scheduled to be operational in 2026, with projections that 80 small businesses will access the facility in the first decade.
“It will provide a front door for businesses wishing to access a smart, diverse and skilled workforce, and will give undergraduate students valuable experience working on these projects and showing them their potential career pathways,” says Zelinsky.