Advanced Air Mobility is a transformative solution to Australia’s unique set of challenges in mobility and connectivity across our vast, remote and wild country.

Advanced Air Mobility CRC

About the CRC

In Australia, the aviation and aerospace industry underpins our national and international supply chains and enables our tourism, mining, construction, manufacturing and higher education sectors. However, as the Aviation Green Paper clearly lays out, the industry faces a significant challenge looking forward.

Challenges facing the industry include ageing infrastructure; a critical decline in regional and remote aviation services and productivity; the need to reduce aviation emissions; managing, integrating and scaling emerging aviation technologies; improving air operational performance; creating fit-for-purpose agencies and regulators; and addressing a critical aviation skill shortage. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is quickly emerging as a transformative solution to these challenges.

The AAM CRC will strategically integrate researchers and industry including airlines, airports, operators, aviation services, developers, original equipment manufacturers, customers, communities, regulators and policymakers to undertake and deliver critical research and development in the AAM ecosystem.

Over a 10-year, whole-of-industry uplift, the AAM CRC will support timely, long-term advancements in air vehicles, air operations and ground operations, covering the ground-to-sky challenge of introducing AAM as well as developing sovereign industry capabilities to supply AAM products and services for Australia and export.

The AAM CRC will bring the aviation and aerospace industry together around these focal challenges through three integrated Research Programs: Air Vehicles, Air Operations and Ground Operations.

Research programs

What is a Cooperative Research Centre?

Cooperative Research Centres grants provide funding for long-term collaborative research programs that will help solve major problems or issues facing industry. CRC’s are funded for up to 10 years and are awarded to consortiums through competitive, merit based funding rounds. Funding rounds occur once per year with focus priorities.  

  • Up to 50% of eligible research costs to undertake and deliver industry led research with research partner organisations. There is no minimum or maximum grant amount, but the amount you request should be proportional to the scope and complexity of your research program. You and your partner organisations must at least match the amount of grant funding received through cash and/or in-kind contributions.

  • Businesses who want to help solve the big problems facing industry and need support from Australian Research partners.

  • The AAM CRC will apply the National Principles of Intellectual Property Management for Publicly Funded Research and look to secure the maximum benefit to Partners and the Australian economy from IP generated from Projects (Project IP).

    The AAM CRC intends for Project IP to be negotiated as part of the Project Agreements on a Project-by-Project basis. Several IP exploitation principles have been agreed and will guide Project Agreements.

  • Interested parties are asked to reach out to the AAM CRC team at info@aamcrc.com.au, an info pack will be provided which includes the Partner Contribution form and declaration form which are needed for the CRC application.

Find out more 

Go to business.gov.au/CRC for more information. 

Meet the Team

  • Dr Adriano Di Pietro

    Interim CEO

    Dr Adriano Di Pietro has over 15 years of international experience in advanced technology development, in the aerospace and automotive industries. Adriano has a PhD in Aerospace Manufacturing, and is the founding Director of the AIR Hub at Swinburne University of Technology, an aerospace focused industry led research group. Adriano is the Interim CEO of the AAM CRC bid, launching the bid in September 2023.

    You can find out more about Adriano here.

  • Peter Smith

    Interim Strategic Advisor

    Peter Smith an internationally experienced Australian consultant and professional director specialising in aerospace and defence. Peter consults to Australian and international governments, companies and industry associations on strategic planning, opportunity analysis and major bids/proposals. He has chaired Australia's largest uncrewed systems company and held Board positions on Australian and international uncrewed system associations.

    You can find out more about Peter here.

  • Professor Caroline McMillen AO

    Interim Chair

    Professor Caroline McMillen AO is the former Chief Scientist for South Australia and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle, where she played a significant role in promoting research and innovation in Australia. Throughout her career, Caroline has worked across the research and innovation ecosystem in national projects and programs and has been committed to building collaborations between universities, industry and communities that drive innovation and have a positive impact on the economic, environmental and social outcomes in regions across Australia.

  • Associate Professor Dries Verstraete

    Research Program Leader - Air Vehicles

    Associate Professor Dries Verstraete has 20-plus years' experience in aerospace engineering and is widely recognised for his applied research on sustainable aviation and fuel-cell-based propulsion systems. He established the Sydney Propulsion Lab, one of the world’s leading groups in the field. Dries is also the leader of the Data61 Next-Generation Graduate Training Program ‘Device-on-Demand’, and manages over 20 researchers across three organisations. He is Co-Director of the National Facility for Fuel Cells and Electrolysers and is the Australian coordinator for the EU-funded HEXAFLY-INT.

  • Professor Jennifer Palmer

    Research Program Leader - Air Operations

    As Head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at RMIT, Professor Jennifer Palmer leads a team of 25 staff and 85 research students specialising in aerospace engineering and aviation. Her research is focused on aerial autonomous systems, particularly teaming and swarming operations, along with the design and trialling of novel air vehicles. Jennifer has more than 20 years’ experience in industry, government, and academia and was previously Technology Program Director at the Trusted Autonomous Systems CRC. Jennifer is a graduate of Stanford University and spent 13 years at the Defence Science and Technology Group, where her focus was on hybrid power for uncrewed aircraft and autonomous systems for complex and contested urban environments, along with defence-oriented innovation.

  • Dr Levi Swann

    Research Program Leader - Ground Operations

    Dr Levi Swann is a Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design within the School of Design at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Emerging Technologies Program Lead in the QUT Design Lab. He has a PhD in Human Factors in Airport Security Screening and nearly 10 years of experience at QUT working on research across a range of industry sectors, including Aviation, Agriculture and Business. Levi’s research adopts a systems view, convening diverse stakeholder perspectives with the aim of understanding complex and interconnected challenges, and generating solutions with real-world impact.

Theme and enabler leads

  • Professor Kylie Catchpole

    ANU College of Engineering, Computing and Cybernetics

  • Professor Hamish Campbell

    Associate Dean of Research, Innovation and Research Training, Charles Darwin University

  • Professor Thomas Braunl

    Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences , University of Western Australia

  • Professor Suresh Palanisamy

    Director, Manufacturing Futures Research Platform, Swinburne University of Technology

  • To be announced

  • Professor Brian Falzon

    Dean of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University

  • Professor Rico Merkert

    Chair of Transport and Supply Chain Management, University of Sydney

    Associate Professor Hadi Ghaderi

    Major Discipline Coordinator, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Swinburne University of Technology

  • Professor Kate Stevens

    Director, The MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University

  • Associate Professor Joanne Porter

    Director of Collaborative Evaluation Unit, Federation University

  • Lea Vesic

    RMIT Aviation Academy Director, RMIT University