iLAuNCH Trailblazer propels Australian Space R&D onto the global stage

The iLAuNCH Trailblazer has formed a partnership with Deloitte Australia, the iLAuNCH Global Pathfinder Program, connecting Australian R&D with international organisations to collaboratively develop and commercialise Australian space technologies.

Building on the success of the local Trailblazer program, which developed Australia’s space capabilities by fostering partnerships between universities and industry, the iLAuNCH Global Pathfinder Program will extend this concept to a larger international market. This expansion will open opportunities for Australian research and businesses, effectively propelling their research capabilities onto a global platform, according to iLAuNCH.

This partnership with Deloitte and the three iLAuNCH Trailblazer universities – the University of Southern Queensland, the Australian National University and the University of South Australia – will continue to transform how they engage with industry, alongside more than 30 invested commercial partners.

The Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications and Hypersonics (iLAuNCH) Trailblazer is a $180 million R&D program, with money contributed by the federal government, participating universities and companies. It is designed to build Australia’s enduring space capability through the commercialisation of projects, a fast-track accelerator, and skills development to build the workforce of the future.

“Australia ranks in the top echelons for developing Intellectual Property, but we don’t capitalise well to commercialise,” said Executive Director, Darin Lovett. The Australian Government created the Trailblazer Universities Program to overcome this, he added, by enabling some $370 million of total, dedicated investment in cash and kind to accelerate Australia’s innovation agenda at speed and at scale.

“This Global Pathfinder program is innovative in its vision and approach, emulating international space ecosystems for space technology to export our world class innovation into a global market”.

Leveraging Deloitte’s global network, Phase 1 will identify and solicit interest from international organisations interested in space research and development to co-develop the Global Pathfinder Program.

“Deloitte has a long-standing commitment to developing Australia’s space ecosystem and promoting a unified global approach to the development of the space ecosystem. We welcome this opportunity to work with iLAuNCH Trailblazer and expand the work we already do with the Australian higher education system,” said Deloitte Australia Space Partner Byron Riessen.

“We continue to demonstrate this commitment through initiatives like the successful GRAVITY Challenge, founded by Deloitte in 2019, which now operates globally from Australia.”

In an international arena of competition, the iLAuNCH Global Pathfinder Program will provide Australian space R&D with an outlet to showcase world-class Australian innovation, adding to the AUD $140 million already committed to the various iLAuNCH Trailblazer projects over the past year.

The Global Pathfinder will open doors for Australian companies to access international markets and connect expertise across Australia, supporting further growth in the space industry.

Upon completion of the first phase, iLAuNCH expects to announce the successful international partners in the Global Pathfinder Program in late 2024.