Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2674 actions· ✨ 91 recent

Australia's National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, the federal government's AUD 15 billion sovereign investment vehicle, made an AUD 20 million (USD 14 million) equity investment in Diraq, a Sydney-based silicon-qubit quantum computing startup spun out of UNSW Sydney. The funding backs research, product development and commercialisation as Diraq works toward a utility-scale quantum computer, and is framed by the NRFC as building sovereign quantum capability and keeping the IP and jobs onshore in Australia.

The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), Australia's AUD 15 billion sovereign industrial-financing vehicle, took a AUD 30.7 million (USD 21.5 million) equity stake in Applied Electric Vehicles (AEV), a Melbourne-based autonomous electric vehicle manufacturer, announced 28 January 2026. The investment is NRFC's first under its Transport priority area and forms more than half of AEV's USD 40 million (~AUD 58 million) Series B round, alongside Barrenjoey, Japan Post Capital, and existing backers Suzuki Motor Corporation and St Baker. Funds will manufacture, commercialise, and scale AEV's "Blanc Robot" autonomous electric vehicle fleet for mining dust-suppression and inter-factory logistics, supporting AEV's existing 113-person workforce and funding up to 25 new skilled roles in Melbourne.

The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), Australia's AUD 15 billion sovereign industrial-financing vehicle, took a AUD 75 million preferred-equity cornerstone stake in Gilmour Space Technologies, a Queensland orbital-launch company, announced 20 January 2026. The stake anchors a AUD 217 million capital raise co-led with superannuation fund Hostplus (also AUD 75 million), alongside Future Fund, HESTA, Blackbird, Main Sequence, QIC, Funds SA, NGS Super and Brighter Super, valuing the company at over AUD 1 billion. Proceeds fund development and qualification of Gilmour's Eris orbital launch vehicle, scaling of satellite and rocket manufacturing, and expansion of the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland — Australia's only licensed orbital launch facility.

Australia's government-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) announced on 19 January 2026 an AUD 70 million (approx. USD 47.1 million) equity commitment to the QIC Global Infrastructure Fund II (QGIF II), managed by QIC. The commitment targets decarbonisation of Australia's energy and transport sectors — smart metering, transport decarbonisation, renewable generation and grid infrastructure — and follows an earlier AUD 72 million CEFC commitment to the fund's first vehicle (QGIF I). CEFC states its cumulative lifetime equity commitments across infrastructure funds now exceed AUD 600 million. Global Trade Alert separately logs the transaction as a "red"-flagged state-aid intervention (state act 96103 / intervention 152085).

The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), Australia's AUD 15 billion sovereign industrial-financing vehicle, took a AUD 20 million preferred-equity stake in Omniscient Neurotechnology, a Sydney-founded clinical connectomics company, announced 16 January 2026. The investment forms part of Omniscient's broader Series D raise (reported at up to AUD 36 million / USD 27.2 million) alongside Australian venture fund OIF Ventures, and is earmarked to commercialise Omniscient's Quicktome AI brain-mapping platform globally and expand its data-science team. NRFC frames the deal as building sovereign AI/medical-technology capability and creating over 40 new skilled jobs in Australia.