EnergyTech Hub Launches to Find Solutions for Australia's Sustainable Energy Transition

EnergyTech Hub media release

2 June 2020
Melbourne, Australia

Commercial collaboration between scaleups, partners and investors on the most challenging and pressing problems  facing the energy industry is set to accelerate Australia’s sustainable energy transition thanks to the launch of the  EnergyTech Hub today, which is headquartered in Melbourne and powered by Startupbootcamp Australia.

Aimed at bringing down the barriers to providing sustainable, reliable and affordable solutions to Australia’s energy challenges, the EnergyTech Hub counts VivaEnergy, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, EnergyAustralia, the Victorian Cleantech Fund, the Centre for New Energy Technologies (C4NET), and YBF Ventures as its launch partners and its supporting partner; COSEC. Participation in EnergyTech Hub is open to stakeholders from across the energy ecosystem.

The EnergyTech Hub will help scaleups test, implement, and scale solutions bringing commercial-ready technology and business model innovations to the Australian energy market. It encourages scaleups, corporate partner sponsors, government, education and investors to come together, tackle these challenges and unlock new opportunities in the energy sector.

Providing the opportunity for the industry to support the energy scaleup ecosystem, the EnergyTech Hub offers a launching pad for local business establishments. It will run a ‘GrowthLab’ program, including tailored events, workshops and deep dive sessions with a focus on current challenges that both local and global collaboration can solve.

The five month virtual program assists energy-related scaleups, looking to expand into the Australian market, identify and qualify commercial opportunities. Scaleups also have direct exposure to the EnergyTech Hub partner and investor network where they can work on collaborative pilot projects, find co-investment opportunities and get access to industry  expertise and market insights.

This year, the partners of the EnergyTech Hub have determined the overarching themes to be: Alternate fuels, renewable energy & barriers to adoption, Storage & eMobility and Data Led best practices.

“One of the biggest challenges for new cleantech businesses is attracting patient capital from committed and informed investors. As Australia’s largest dedicated cleantech investor, we see the EnergyTech Hub as an exciting development, with the potential to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative cleantech businesses.” says Bev Thomas, CEFC Director Innovation Fund.

EnergyAustralia Chief Customer Officer Mark Collette said: “Building on our strong partnership with Startupbootcamp, the new Energy Tech hub will provide a channel for the scale-up community to progress their idea to the Australian market and demonstrate benefits for customers. The energy system in Australia continues to undergo unprecedented change – the EnergyTech Hub will help drive energy innovation to benefit families and businesses”.

“VCTF has partnered with EnergyTech Hub to promote the adoption of new technologies with a positive impact on our climate. We aim to provide a link to early stage capital to provide scaleups a funding option for growth and ultimately create employment opportunities in Victoria.” Joseph Younane, Chair at the Victorian CleanTech Fund said.

James Seymour, from the Centre for New Energy Technologies (C4NET) added “C4NET aims to foster collaboration across the energy sector to tackle the tough challenges it faces through its transitions to the grid of the future. The EnergyTech Hub is a great initiative to assist new entrants connect with the key participants and reduce barriers to entry. We look forward to helping build the EnergyTech Hub as a physical and virtual space at the forefront of innovation in the sector, connecting ventures with industry, government and researchers and seeing new products, solutions and approaches thrive.”

“The EnergyTech hub will encourage cross-company collaboration, playing a key role for driving change in a complex market such as energy, that is otherwise prone to resisting disruptive innovation. Powering The EnergyTech Hub, Startupbootcamp is proud to be partnering with leaders in the industry, to assist the sustainable energy transition, continuing to support Australia becoming the global centre for energy innovation.” says Trevor Townsend, CEO and CoFounder of Startupbootcamp.

Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis and they close on June 26th. For more information and how to apply, visit Startupbootcamp.org