Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO1731

The PFAS Remediation Research Program (the Program) aims to facilitate the development of innovative technologies to investigate and remediate PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) contaminated media including soil and other solid contaminated debris, groundwater, waterways and marine systems. Up to $4.8 million in total is available to fund a range of research projects. 

The Program is intended to fund research to:

• minimise PFAS in the environment

• develop effective technologies that can be applied to remediate PFAS contaminated soil, waterways, waste, debris and/or large volumes of groundwater

• develop options and mechanisms through which these effective technologies can be applied in the field.

The objectives of the Program are to:

• develop technologies which will do one or more of the following:

• immobilise PFAS and prevent its movement in the environment

• remove PFAS from soil, water and/or waste

• breakdown PFAS by destroying the carbon-fluorine bonds, to form environmentally benign products with limited adverse environmental outcomes

• establish the potential for relevant technologies developed to be deployed in the field to treat contaminated soil, waterways, waste, debris and/or large volumes of groundwater

• develop technologies that can be scaled up for efficient and effective field deployment.

Applications must address PFAS Research Priority Areas using existing and emerging solutions for PFAS removal and disposal. The Research Priority Areas are:

• practical technologies for application in the field

• end-to-end and/or modular remediation processes technologies for waste, water, soil and sediment remediation technologies applicable to PFAS affecting the chosen media, in particular Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and precursors

An Application may only be submitted through the Research Office of an Eligible Organisation listed in the Grant Guidelines.

Eligibility Criteria for Participants

All Chief Investigators, Partner Investigators and Partner Organisations named in the application must satisfy the eligibility outlined in the Grant Guidelines at the scheme specific commencement Date and for the duration of the Project.

Ineligible Activities

The following activities are ineligible for funding:

• construction of high temperature incineration facilities (thermal breakdown of PFAS could be included as part of a modular solution to remediating waste streams)

• ecotoxicology capability building

• detection and monitoring of PFAS, except for validation purposes within a Project

• Medical Research as defined in the ARC Medical Research Policy available on the ARC website; or

• the same research activities or Project previously funded or currently being funded through any other Commonwealth funding.

Other requirements

The applicant, if successful, will agree to provide the Commonwealth and State Governments with a permanent, non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free licence (including a right to sub license) to use, modify, communicate, reproduce, publish and adapt the Material produced under this grant agreement.

For further information about all eligibility requirements, please refer to the Grant Guidelines.

The grant period per project is for a minimum of one year up to a maximum of three years.

$4,800,000.00

From $50,000.00 to $3,000,000.00

The Application must be submitted as a mature research plan presenting the proposed Project ready for implementation and must contain all the information necessary for its assessment without the need for further written or oral explanation, or reference to additional documentation, unless requested by the ARC.

Applicants should note the eligibility criteria for access to other funding schemes, as expressed in the Grant Guidelines for those schemes. The ARC reserves the right to change these criteria in future funding rounds. Grant Guidelines for all ARC schemes may be found attached to the relevant Grant Opportunity.

Administering Organisations must submit Applications through RMS unless otherwise advised by the ARC.

All Applications must meet the format and content requirements, including certification, as set out in the RMS online form and the relevant scheme Instructions to Applicants. 

The Research Management System (RMS) is a web-based system used to prepare and submit research proposals, assessments and rejoinders for the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP).

Registered users can login using your email address and password at https://rms.arc.gov.au. To request a new account, go to https://rms.arc.gov.au and click on the Request New Account link.