The Australian Government has funded two new pilot projects through the Blockchain Pilot Grants program, aiming to demonstrate how blockchain technology can support supply chain solutions and help to ease regulatory burdens. 

Over $5.6 million has been provided by the Government through the program to investigate the capability of blockchain to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Critical Minerals and Food and Beverage sectors. 

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter said the two projects will accelerate the country’s adoption of blockchain technology. He also said that the projects will assist businesses in solving real-world problems. 

“The Blockchain Pilot Grants will demonstrate the potential for blockchain to help businesses to save money and cut red tape by improving processes such as tracking products throughout the supply chain and transferring customer information,” Minister Porter said. 

“These two successful projects will also highlight opportunities to improve the technical and regulatory environment for blockchain in Australia, bolster blockchain literacy and support collaboration between Australian governments, the private sector and blockchain companies.”

The two recipients of the Blockchain Pilot Grants are: 

• Everledger — will use their $3,000,000 funding to investigate how blockchain technology can be used to create a ‘digital certification’ for critical minerals throughout the extraction and movement phases. This will help companies in the sector to ensure adherence to compliance regulations and increase the demand for Australian products in global markets, while also simplifying the process and lowering costs. 
• Convergence.tech — has received $2,663,000 and will use it to leverage blockchain technology to help automate key reporting processes under the Excise system, a commodity-based tax on goods including beer and spirits. This will help companies in the sector to reduce compliance costs associated with the creation, storage and transportation of their products. 

These grants are funded under the Government’s Digital Business package, which was announced in the Federal Budget 2020-21. The grants also directly align with the National Blockchain Roadmap that was released in February 2020. 

Blockchain is a digital ledger system that records transactions such as the movement of goods through a supply chain. This digital ledger system is extremely difficult to change or “hack” because the information is duplicated across a network of computers.

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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