Second 2026 Innovation Investment Round

Both the Ag Emissions Centre and AgriZero^NZ are working to provide New Zealand farmers with a suite of fit for purpose, practical and cost effective tools to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. During 2026, the AgEC and AgriZero^NZ are partnering to run a second competitive round to identify and support innovative ideas and opportunities.

The AgEC and AgriZero^NZ are seeking genuinely novel approaches, and/or approaches that could significantly strengthen or accelerate emerging opportunities towards practical, farm-level solutions for New Zealand.

We are particularly interested in new mechanisms, concepts, technologies, systems and approaches that could create a meaningful advance in agricultural emissions reduction or measurement.

FOCUS FOR THE SECOND 2026 ROUND

The AgEC and AgriZero^NZ invite Expressions of Interest (EoI) from innovators worldwide to develop transformative agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation solutions or substantially advance emerging technologies with the potential to deliver practical, farm-level outcomes for New Zealand farmers and growers. Preference will be given to proposals that explore novel concepts, mechanisms, or technologies beyond well-established research areas and demonstrate a credible pathway to emissions reduction, adoption, and deployment at scale within a commercially relevant timeframe.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are sought for projects that address the following research challenges:

1. Biological and soil-management technologies that reduce N₂O emissions

2. In situ approaches for quantifying the key intermediaries and processes governing N₂O emissions under urine patch conditions

If your idea doesn’t fit into one of the above challenges, we are still interested in submissions if they address:

3. New/improved approaches to reducing nitrous oxide emissions from ruminant animal deposited urine and/or reducing methane emissions from enteric fermentation

To download the EOI use the link above.

Features of the Second 2026 Investment Round

In addition for this round, if you have an idea, but don’t have a full team together, you can submit a shorter ‘R&D Idea’ proposal (see below).

R&D FULL PROPOSALS

• NZ$2 million is available for this round. The funding may not be evenly split across the research challenges. The funding split will be determined by the quality of applications.
• Applications are invited from both New Zealand and international organisations and individuals.
• Collaborations are encouraged.
• The applicant must have a research team in place which is able to conduct the project once contracting has been completed.
• Individual projects have a maximum duration of two years.

This is a two stage process - details in the guidelines (see link above).

R&D IDEA PROPOSALS

• Up to NZ$50k per project is available for this round (through the AgEC). Up to four projects will be funded in this round, determined by the quality of applications.
• Applications are invited from both New Zealand and international organisations and individuals.
• The applicant can submit an idea without a full team in place.
• Individual projects have a maximum duration of six months.
• The purpose of this funding is to progress and develop ideas to determine feasibility. This could be in the form of access to scientific expertise, building skills and capability, trial design etc. It is envisaged that these projects, if successful, will allow applicants to potentially prepare proposals for additional R&D funding.

This is a two stage process - details in the guidelines.

Second Round 2026 Key Dates

For full eligibility criteria, scoring and weighing please download the guidelines.

Past Rounds

The competitive Innovation Fund has been awarded to multiple successful researchers throughout funding rounds held in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025/26.

Successful applications must develop novel approaches, and/or significantly strengthen current approaches that show major promise for bringing practical, farm-level solutions closer to on-farm implementation.

Four projects were successful in the 2020 round, with funding being awarded to:

• Targeting methanol formation for methane, led by AgResearch
• Molecular tools for methane mitigation, led by the University of Auckland
• Inhibiting ruminal methane using bromoform, led by AgResearch
• On-farm delivery of methane inhibitors, led by DairyNZ

Five projects were successful in the 2021 round, with funding being awarded to:

• On-farm solutions: life-long methane reduction, led by DairyNZ
• Electrocatalytic oxidation of methane, led by Lincoln Agritech
• Targeted on-farm urine patch management, led by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research
• Assessment of risks and requirements for safety of livestock supplemented with bromoform, for methane mitigation, led by Ruminant Biotech
• Development of proxy methods for estimating methane emissions from ruminants, led by AgResearch

Two projects were successful in the 2024 round with funding being awarded to:

• Methane-reducing anti-methanogen peptides and strains (CH₄AMPS), led by AgResearch
• Bacteria as a nitrous oxide mitigation tool, led by Lincoln University

Two projects were successful in the 2025/26 round with funding being awarded to:

• ‘Methane into milk: Microalgae feed for climate and productivity’ – Altraea, in partnership with BSI, is developing a microalgae-based feed additive to reduce enteric methane
• ‘Recombinant protein supplements to reduce enteric methane’ – Bioeconomy Science Institute is aiming to develop methane-reducing proteins that would get added to supplementary livestock feed