A renewable energy software startup to emerge out of the Startmate program has raised $500,000 in its first external round. Power systems engineers Jarman Stephens and Damien Vermeer cofounded gridmo earlier this year to fast track renewable energy grid connection studies. It was built to MVP in Startmate’s summer 23 cohort. The raise was led by the… Read more »
Western Australian battery recycling startup, Renewable Metals has raised $8 million in Seed funding to address low levels of lithium battery materials recovery. The round was led the Investible’s Climate Tech Fund, with support from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) through Virescent Ventures, which tipped in $2.5 million, and US VC the Grantham Foundation… Read more »
EnergyLab has chosen six Australian climate tech startups in a cohort of 10 for its latest scaleup program Now in its fourth year, the industry-led EnergyLab’s Scaleup Program helps the startups involved develop initiatives to fast-track decarbonisation of the grid. The program offers startups the chance to collaborate with Australia and New Zealand’s most innovative… Read more »
Federal government investment fund the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has doubled down on its funding for Infradebt, tipping an additional $100 million into the ACT-based renewables financing firm, taking its total backing to $150 million. Infradebt is a specialist infrastructure project finance fund manager/financier, providing capital for renewables and battery storage projects as well… Read more »
The shift to renewable energy to meet net zero targets will mean Australia has to dramatically scale up its battery storage capacity, a new report from national science agency,CSIRO says. The Renewable Energy Storage Roadmap outlines a 10 to 14-fold increase is required in electricity storage capacity between 2025-2050 for the national electricity market (NEM) to… Read more »
The battle of the billionaires has become the stuff of headlines. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has gone head-to-head with Australia’s richest man, billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest. Musk, founding investor in battery-powered car giant Tesla, has famously mocked hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as “mind-bogglingly stupid”. Forrest has just placed a very large bet on green… Read more »
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flatly opposed the bid led by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes to buy Australia’s biggest energy company AGL and spend A$20 billion switching it to renewables. This includes closing its coal power stations by 2030. As Morrison stated this week: We need to ensure that our coal-fired generation of electricity runs… Read more »
Two events in the past week mark a watershed for Australia’s electricity industry. The first, on Thursday, was Origin Energy’s surprise announcement that it intends to close the mammoth Eraring power station in the NSW Hunter region in 2025, seven years earlier than previously advised. Eraring is Australia’s largest coal-fired generator and supplies between a… Read more »
You might remember hearing a lot about green hydrogen last year, as global pressure mounted on Australia to take stronger action on climate change ahead of the COP26 Glasgow summit last November. The government predicts green hydrogen exports and domestic use could be worth up to A$50 billion within 30 years, helping the world achieve… Read more »
The value a massive solar farm in the Northern Territory designed to supply power to Singapore, has increased by $8 billion to $30 billion in the wake of approval by the Indonesian Government to run the cable through its waters. The Sun Cable Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) project has some high profile backers, including Atlassian co-founder… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank has made a second major investment in a digital startup, investing $20 million in a series B round for electricity retailer Amber. The deal follows a $30 million investment by CBA for a 23% stake in e-commerce retail platform Little Birdie. The Amber investment gives CBA a 25% stake in the business.… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank is launching a CommBank Green Loan for its home loan customers to purchase and install renewable technology, offering an interest rate of just 0.99%. CBA Group Executive Angus Sullivan said the move was part of the bank’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. “The CommBank Green Loan offers an historically low… Read more »
Victoria is planning to build a 300 megawatt Tesla battery near Geelong, snatching the title for the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest battery from South Australia. French renewable energy company Neoen will pay for construction of the lithium-ion battery, as well its ongoing operation and maintenance, Victorian energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio announced today. The 300MW battery will be… Read more »
Green is more than a corporate colour at Bunnings with the Wesfarmers-owned hardware chain announcing today that it will power its 260-plus stores Australia-wide with 100% renewable electricity by 2025. The move is part of a pledge to achieve net zero Scope 1 (direct) and 2 (indirect) emissions by 2030. Grocery retailer ALDI recently announced… Read more »
A $9 million project to make cheaper rooftop solar panels by replacing the silver in production with copper has attracted $8 million in funding. The cash for NSW startup SunDrive includes $5m Series A investment led by Blackbird Ventures and Grok Ventures, the family investment fund of Atlassian co-founder and renewable energy campaigner Mike Cannon-Brookes and… Read more »
Job-ready sales talent edtech Earlywork banks $1.5 million Seed round 
Airtasker cofounder Jonathan Lui’s proptech app, Soho, banks $750,000 to hit $20 million valuation 
Sweat re-equity: Bikini Body founders Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce buy back their fitness app 
B2B BNPL BizPay, which hoped to list at a $400 million valuation, has been placed in voluntary administration 
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