We've already reached that part of the election campaign where the government is re-announcing startup funding

Back on February 13, Startup Daily announced news that battery storage tech startup Allegro Energy had bagged a $1.85 million federal government grant.

The Newcastle-based startup was one of five early stage tech companies funded under the $400 million Industry Growth Program, and the money is for the mass production of their water-based Redox Flow Batteries (RFB) to store renewable energy.

Allegro Energy raised a $17.5 million Series A last year and counts Origin Energy among its shareholders. The RFBs are non-flammable, non-corrosive and recyclable, and suited to long storage.

At the time, federal industry and science minister Ed Husic said: “We’re backing these businesses to make the jump from start-up to fully-fledged enterprise, creating new jobs and new industries in the process.”

As part of the government’s commitment to recycling, minister Husic was in the Hunter on Monday on the campaign hustings ahead of the May 3 election re-announcing news of the funding.

The seat of Hunter, undergoing a transition from coal to renewables, has traditionally voted Labor but its margin is just 4.8%, which in 2020s politics, is far from safe.

So Husic made up so fresh comments in telling everyone about the $1.85 million grant again.

“Allegro’s product is responding to what the market wants, safe, cheap, long-lasting batteries made using recycled material, so scaling up quickly is critical and that’s what this investment by the Government help do,” he said.

“This investment in Allegro will mean jobs will grow, power bills will go down, and emissions cut – all made possible by funding provided to this cutting-edge battery technology built here in the Hunter.”

A quick search today suggests the recycled announcement hasn’t had the media traction Labor perhaps hoped for, but with a month to go before voters head to the polls, expect more announcement deja vu in the coming weeks.

The Industry Growth Program is designed to scale up early-stage businesses so they can go on to apply for National Reconstruction Fund co-investment down the track and offers Early-Stage Commercialisation grants worth up to $250,000 and Commercialisation and Growth grants of up to $5 million.

Applications for the program are open on an ongoing basis. Find out more at business.gov.au/igprecipients.

And below is how political sausages are made: