Australia’s association with Horizon Europe is expected to open new opportunities for researchers, universities and deep-tech companies, strengthening international collaboration while expanding pathways for commercialisation and global growth.
As Australia looks to build a more competitive innovation ecosystem, industry leaders are emphasising that international partnerships must be matched by continued investment in domestic research, infrastructure and talent.
Petra Andrén, the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of Quantum Australia, has been at the forefront of these discussions. With more than 25 years of experience in deep technology, innovation and commercialisation, she is leading the national organisation responsible for coordinating Australia’s quantum technology sector and advancing the translation of research into real-world outcomes.
In this interview, Petra discusses what Horizon Europe means for Australia’s deep-tech sector, why commercialisation remains one of the country’s biggest innovation challenges, and how stronger international collaboration can help Australian companies scale globally while building long-term sovereign capability at home.
1. Australia’s association with Horizon Europe has been described as a major opportunity for our innovation ecosystem. From your perspective, what does this partnership fundamentally change for Australian deep-tech companies?
Association with Horizon Europe is a significant opportunity not just for Australian companies, but for our entire research and innovation ecosystem.
It enables Australian researchers, universities, research organisations and companies to collaborate more deeply with leading partners across Europe on some of the world’s most important scientific and industrial challenges. Rather than participating from the margins, Australian organisations will be able to contribute more fully to international research and innovation partnerships, strengthening Australia’s scientific capability and global connections.
For deep-tech companies, this is particularly important. Australia has world-class research but a relatively small domestic market. Horizon Europe provides opportunities to connect with international partners, demonstration projects, customers, supply chains and investors, creating a stronger pathway to commercialise Australian innovation and scale globally while remaining anchored in Australia.
In addition, Horizon Europe’s greatest long-term benefit is that it embeds Australian researchers and innovators in international networks that continue long after individual projects finish.
2. You’ve said Horizon Europe shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for strong domestic investment. Why is it so important that Australia gets the balance right between investing at home and collaborating internationally?
Domestic investment and international collaboration are not alternatives. They are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
Australia must continue investing in world-class research, research infrastructure, skilled people and the translation of discoveries into new products and services. Without that foundation, we risk contributing great ideas to industries and supply chains that ultimately grow elsewhere.
At the same time, no country can build every capability alone. International collaboration gives Australian researchers and companies access to complementary expertise, facilities, markets and trusted partnerships that would otherwise be difficult to achieve.
Quantum Australia has seen the value of this approach. Public investment has helped build capability locally by supporting research translation, creating new ventures and connecting researchers with industry. International collaboration with trusted partners then extends that capability by opening pathways to global markets.
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Australia’s greatest opportunity lies in combining a strong domestic innovation system with deep international collaboration with like-minded countries.
3. Australia has recognised strengths in quantum, AI, advanced manufacturing, critical minerals, climate technologies and biotechnology. What’s preventing more of that research from becoming globally competitive businesses?
Australia produces outstanding research, but translating research excellence into globally competitive businesses remains one of our biggest challenges.
Researchers often need greater support to understand market needs, build industry partnerships and identify where their discoveries can create the greatest impact. Industry, in turn, needs clearer pathways to engage with researchers and confidence that emerging technologies can be demonstrated in real-world environments.
Programs such as Quantum Australia’s NewQ pre-accelerator help quantum researchers and early-stage teams validate whether their research addresses a genuine market need before building a company around it. But market validation is only one step.
To successfully commercialise deep technologies, Australia also needs access to patient capital, specialised infrastructure, test beds, talent including skilled management teams and early customers across government and industry. These are the conditions that allow discoveries to move beyond the laboratory and become globally competitive businesses.
If we fail to build those conditions at home, researchers and founders will increasingly look overseas to commercialise their innovations, taking intellectual property, talent and long-term economic value with them.
4. Beyond funding, how can Horizon Europe help Australian companies connect with the international partnerships, supply chains, demonstration projects and markets they need to scale?
The real value of Horizon Europe extends well beyond funding.
It creates structured collaboration between researchers, universities, research organisations, companies, governments and end users across multiple countries. These collaborations combine scientific excellence with industrial capability and help accelerate the journey from research to real-world impact.
For researchers, this means opportunities to work with world-leading collaborators, access complementary expertise, specialist facilities and capabilities through international research collaborations and contribute to ambitious multinational projects.
For companies, participation provides opportunities to validate technologies through demonstration projects, build relationships with international partners, access emerging supply chains and establish credibility with future customers and investors.
These collaborations also give Australian organisations an opportunity to contribute to the technologies, evidence and collaborative initiatives that often inform future international standards, research priorities and industrial ecosystems that will define future global markets. Being part of those conversations matters because the organisations helping shape future industries are often the ones best positioned to benefit from them.
5. Australia has long struggled to translate world-class research into commercial success. What lessons can we take from Europe’s innovation ecosystem to improve that?
Europe demonstrates that successful commercialisation is not a single event, it is an integrated system.
The first lesson is long-term investment. Deep technologies often take many years to mature, and Europe supports the entire innovation pathway from collaborative research through to demonstration and deployment.
The second lesson is that collaboration is designed into the system. Researchers, industry, governments and end users work together throughout the innovation process, helping ensure excellent science is connected to real-world challenges from an early stage.
The third lesson is the importance of shared infrastructure. Access to specialised research infrastructure, demonstration facilities and public procurement helps promising technologies move beyond the laboratory.
Finally, Europe demonstrates the power of scale. By connecting expertise, infrastructure and markets across multiple countries, it creates opportunities that no single institution or nation could achieve alone.
Australia already has internationally recognised research capability. The opportunity now is to build a more connected innovation system that supports researchers, strengthens collaboration with industry, accelerates commercialisation and enables Australian companies to grow globally.
A strong domestic research and innovation system, combined with the international partnerships offered through Horizon Europe, gives Australia the best opportunity to translate scientific excellence into long-term economic growth, productivity and sovereign capability. Sovereign capability is strengthened through trusted international collaboration built on a strong domestic foundation.
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