Universities Australia Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said such grants were a clear-sighted investment in research that would lead to new economic opportunities and health and medical breakthroughs.

“From projects that could save lives to those which tackle poverty, generate clean energy, reveal our human history or progress quantum computing, university research has real-world benefits for all Australians,” Ms Robinson said.

“These projects are led by some of Australia’s most outstanding researchers working on some of our biggest problems. It’s fantastic to see these exciting projects being nurtured in Australia’s world-class universities,” she said.

The range of projects funded by the ARC include developing ways to improve the lives of ageing Australians, creating new high-performance lithium-ion batteries, and improving salt tolerance in crops.
“The ARC also continues to recognise the important role played by basic research in building Australia’s future knowledge economy.”

More than 100 new Future Fellows and 200 Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards were also announced providing vital support for early and mid-career researchers.

“These fellowships and awards provide much needed certainty for early career researchers to secure their career pathways in the Australian university research environment. This is crucial for sustaining our future research workforce needs.”

This year’s funding pool is $59 million more than the $357 million awarded in 2015. The number of grants has also increased from 899 to 989 since last year.