The country's first energy accelerator is launching in
Sydney, promising to support entrepreneurs striving to commercialise
renewable and advanced energy solutions to the national energy crisis.
EnergyLab will be located at the University of Technology Sydney's Chippendale campus and has the support of Climate-KIC Australia and Jobs for NSW, which has provided a $120,000 grant to support the fit-out and first-year operation costs of the program.
EnergyLab executive director Piers Grove said he was not critical of the coal industry, but he believed the shift to renewable energy was as inevitable as society going "from pen to paper and from paper to laptops".
"Australia is set up better than almost any other market on earth to capitalise on this," Mr Grove said. "We have the natural conditions, a well-regulated market and globally we have the biggest uptake of solar power. We also have the best research available and Australia and NSW should be able to lead this industry and export innovations into other markets."
EnergyLab will be located at the University of Technology Sydney's Chippendale campus and has the support of Climate-KIC Australia and Jobs for NSW, which has provided a $120,000 grant to support the fit-out and first-year operation costs of the program.
EnergyLab executive director Piers Grove said he was not critical of the coal industry, but he believed the shift to renewable energy was as inevitable as society going "from pen to paper and from paper to laptops".
"Australia is set up better than almost any other market on earth to capitalise on this," Mr Grove said. "We have the natural conditions, a well-regulated market and globally we have the biggest uptake of solar power. We also have the best research available and Australia and NSW should be able to lead this industry and export innovations into other markets."
"Because all the
partnerships are falling into place, we hope to have a second program
running towards the end of the year, and then ramp up the roll-out in
2018."
Unlike most accelerator programs that go for three months, EnergyLab has been structured to run for between 12 and 24 months to take into account the longer development times and larger investments needed to get energy start-ups off the ground.
Eight companies a year will be accepted into the NSW-based accelerator in two tranches, with each receiving $50,000 in seed capital. But Mr Grove said that, if the start-up was then able to raise further funding from external investors, EnergyLab would also participate in later rounds.
"At the end of the program we want the start-ups to either have a significant purchase order signed up, or the next round of capital raised. That way they're either doing business, or they have the capital to do so," he said.
Unlike most accelerator programs that go for three months, EnergyLab has been structured to run for between 12 and 24 months to take into account the longer development times and larger investments needed to get energy start-ups off the ground.
Eight companies a year will be accepted into the NSW-based accelerator in two tranches, with each receiving $50,000 in seed capital. But Mr Grove said that, if the start-up was then able to raise further funding from external investors, EnergyLab would also participate in later rounds.
"At the end of the program we want the start-ups to either have a significant purchase order signed up, or the next round of capital raised. That way they're either doing business, or they have the capital to do so," he said.
EnergyLab will also
provide a co-working space for 60 clean energy entrepreneurs and offer
them mentoring and networking opportunities.
Experts from big businesses such as Origin Energy, AGL Energy, and professional services firms such as PwC and KPMG have signed up to be mentors.
Experts from big businesses such as Origin Energy, AGL Energy, and professional services firms such as PwC and KPMG have signed up to be mentors.
Investment
In September Artesian Ventures launched Australia's first Clean Energy Seed Fund, with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation the cornerstone investor, putting $10 million into the fund and enterprises and high net worth individuals making up another $10 million.
Mr Grove said investors
were keen to support the sector, but limited knowledge of how the
advanced technologies work had made it too risky for many potential
backers.
"We want to facilitate a better understanding of the sector for entrepreneurs and investors. These investments take more like seven to eight years for exits, rather than four to five. The capital requirements are also higher because the start-ups have to scale for offshore manufacturing," Mr Grove said.
Mr Lee added: "Institutional investors are also looking for avenues to invest in this, but they don't want to invest in just one start-up, so there is potential to aggregate them and create one investment pool."
Both Mr Grove and Mr Lee pinpointed advances in the energy storage market as the most exciting innovations coming out of start-ups today.
"We want to facilitate a better understanding of the sector for entrepreneurs and investors. These investments take more like seven to eight years for exits, rather than four to five. The capital requirements are also higher because the start-ups have to scale for offshore manufacturing," Mr Grove said.
Mr Lee added: "Institutional investors are also looking for avenues to invest in this, but they don't want to invest in just one start-up, so there is potential to aggregate them and create one investment pool."
Both Mr Grove and Mr Lee pinpointed advances in the energy storage market as the most exciting innovations coming out of start-ups today.
One such development comes from Adelaide-based business 1414 Degrees, which is preparing for a $10 million initial public offering. The
business, which stems from patented CSIRO research, has built a
prototype molten silicon storage device, which it claims costs a 10th of
the price of a lithium ion battery to store the same amount of energy.
"The storage market is going to completely revolutionise the way consumers consume and share power and the number of businesses that are coming out of this are huge," Mr Grove said.
"We're also not done with solar yet. We're looking at 50 per cent of Australia's energy needs being generated from residential rooftops by 2030. We can look towards more commercial applications of solar and the finance models that come with that.
source: http://www.afr.com
"The storage market is going to completely revolutionise the way consumers consume and share power and the number of businesses that are coming out of this are huge," Mr Grove said.
"We're also not done with solar yet. We're looking at 50 per cent of Australia's energy needs being generated from residential rooftops by 2030. We can look towards more commercial applications of solar and the finance models that come with that.
source: http://www.afr.com
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