The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced more than $344 million in Australian Government funding for over 290 research projects under its 2026 Future Fellowships scheme.
According to the ARC, the investment is the largest funding allocation for a Future Fellowships round to date and will support research across areas including clean energy, agriculture, environmental protection, housing, artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
The funded projects include research into new approaches to protecting wheat from fungal diseases, converting nitrate pollution into ammonia, and developing next-generation solar technologies and energy storage materials made from agricultural waste. Other projects will examine green hydrogen catalysts and solid-state lithium-CO2 batteries.
Research will also focus on environmental resilience, including how wildlife responds to increasingly intense fire regimes, as well as social and economic issues such as housing stress, financial instability and speculative housing markets.
The ARC said the program will also support research into Aboriginal early childhood education, cultural knowledge and Indigenous language preservation, alongside projects examining misinformation, artificial intelligence in schools and sexualised deepfake abuse.
ARC Chief Executive Officer Professor Ute Roessner AM FAA said the fellowships would bring together research expertise to address complex issues.
“These projects demonstrate the value of investing in research that expand knowledge, address complex challenges and create benefits for Australians,” Professor Roessner said.
She said the investment reflected the Australian Government’s commitment to research spanning stronger industries, health and wellbeing, environmental resilience and emerging technologies.
The 2026 Future Fellowships funding comes as the ARC transitions to the revitalised National Competitive Grants Program, with the ARC saying the investment will help build research capability and leadership while contributing to Australia’s future research and innovation priorities.
