Japan has proposed turning the Adelaide facilities with which it would build Australia's 12 new submarines into an innovation centre it says would employ hundreds of local designers.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the lead contractor in the Japanese government-sponsored bid, says the centre would find and commercialise advances in areas such as clean energy, aviation and power.
"It is this type of innovation which makes Japan and Australia important partners for the good of the wider economy," Mitsubishi Heavy Industries chairman Hideaki Omiya said.
Japan is competing with France and Germany for the $50 billion contract to build Australia's submarines, with the winner set to be announced this year.
