Energy Australia to conduct trials with three Startupbootcamp accelerator graduates

Energy Australia is set to conduct trials with three startups that graduated from the accelerator program it ran in conjunction with Startupbootcamp.

Launched last year, the program brought together startups from as far afield as Lithuania, India, the UK, South Korea, and the UK, culminating in a demo day held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last month. Joining Energy Australia were corporate partners Spotless Group and DiUS, with LaunchVic also supporting the program.

Richard Celm, program director at Startupbootcamp Australia, said, “Success means delivering the trilemma – reliable, affordable and cleaner energy – and that’s true wherever you are in the world. It’s great to see every component of the energy chain and government working together, toward that goal.

“It’s our best chance of addressing the global energy challenge. The innovation on show today is a great example of the thinking needed to create a modern energy system.”

The three startups set to work with Energy Australia are:

· 1Ansah: 1Ansah uses natural language processing and machine learning to intelligently maintain complex equipment, helping engineers and maintenance staff in power plants better identify and fix faults to maximise output and minimise downtime. The technology will be put on trial at the Mt Piper power station in New South Wales.

· WePower: WePower is a blockchain-based green energy trading business. Its platform allows producers of renewable energy to raise capital by issuing their own smart energy contracts and then selling them to energy buyers and investors. It means individual energy buyers and investors can participate in the benefits of financing new renewable energy projects.

· Sirius: Sirius is a platform which presents household energy data in a meaningful way and provides consumers with real-time information to change usage behaviour. The business will concentrate on improving digital engagement and demand response programs for residential energy customers.

Meanwhile Oxto, a UK startup working on modular flywheel energy storage, has partnered with the CSIRO to test and certify flywheel technology in Australia, while Polish startup Cognitum, an AI startup, will be running pilot programs with Telstra and Spotless.

Indian data analytics startup EnergyTech Ventures too has launched a strategic partnership with Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital aimed at helping the hospital better manage energy performance.

Startup Daily had a chat to Julian Fogarty, general manager of brand, innovation, and technology at Spotless about how the company is driving a culture of innovation through initiatives like Startupbootcamp.

Image: the Startupbootcamp Energy Australia cohort. Source: Supplied.