The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced the six startups it has selected to present at the fifth annual Innovation Bay and ARENA Renewables Startup Showcase.
The event is returning for the fifth year on Thursday 21 November in Sydney. The theme, ‘Solar and Beyond: The Next Generation of Renewables’, is expected to shine a spotlight on six groundbreaking innovations that are shaping the future of clean energy, solar and beyond connecting them with investors to accelerate sector growth.
Applications were open to all early-stage and scaleup companies innovating in the renewables, climate tech and cleantech sectors. A distinguished panel of judges, including impact VC partners, energy and climate change specialists, and cleantech investors, narrowed down more than 85 applications to a final selection of six. The judges evaluated factors such as market size and business opportunity, team suitability and strength, competitive advantage, investment attractiveness at the current stage, and potential for substantial industry impact, as well as alignment with the theme.
The successful startups include:
Endua
Endua, a Brisbane-based deep tech startup, develops next-gen hydrogen technologies for on-site hydrogen production in energy storage, power, and mobility.
Endua is focused on localised hydrogen generation and reduces costs and environmental impact by eliminating long-distance transport and storage.
The company is backed by key partners – CSIRO, Ampol Australia and Main Sequence.
Endua CEO and founder, Paul Sernia, brings over 20 years in energy and manufacturing, previously co-founding Tritium, a global EV charging company. Paul holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and degrees in Computer Systems Engineering and Computer Science.
Hadean Energy
Hadean Energy, a Melbourne-based CSIRO spin-out, aims to advance green hydrogen and e-fuels with its tubular solid oxide electrolyser (tSOE), which operates up to 30 per cent more efficiently than traditional electrolysers.
This high-performance technology is expected to lower electricity requirements, reducing costs for green hydrogen and e-fuels.
Hadean’s solution supports decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors like steelmaking and ammonia production and enables low-cost syngas for shipping and aviation.
Backed by CSIRO and RFC Ambrian, Hadean is rapidly commercialising, securing grants and preparing for a megawatt-scale demonstration in Australia.
Halocell
Halocell Energy is an Australian solar innovator focused on manufacturing next-generation Perovskite solar cells.
With a pilot facility in New South Wales’ Riverina district, Halocell aims to lead in photovoltaics, initially targeting the Indoor IoT market and expanding to space and drone applications.
Collaborating with academic partners (QUT, UNSW, UQ) and industry leaders (Tindo Solar, Gilmour Space), Halocell advances sustainable energy solutions. The company was founded in 2020 by CEO, Paul Moonie, who brings over 20 years in solar technology.
Halocell is committed to supporting Australia’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
Kwetta
Founded in 2021 in Napier, New Zealand, Kwetta aims to transform ultra-fast EV charging by eliminating grid constraints to unlock electric mobility’s potential.
Its flagship, the Prime Grid Gateway, uniquely addresses capacity, voltage and power quality issues without costly upgrades or batteries, enabling customers to deploy rapidly and access more power at grid-constrained sites.
At the 2024 Renewables Startup Showcase, Kwetta’s Brisbane-based Product Manager, Aidan Clarke, will share the company’s vision for scalable EV infrastructure, leveraging his expertise from Tritium and intelliHR to support global decarbonisation and clean transport innovation.
Reswitch
Reswitch was founded to bridge a crucial gap in the renewable energy sector: ensuring that the economic benefits of clean energy projects reach the communities that host them.
The platform aims to enable energy infrastructure developers, including Renewable Energy Zones coordinators, to deliver tangible benefits such as free or reduced power bills to nearby residents at any project phase – without requiring recipients to switch energy providers.
By digitising and streamlining best practices in benefit-sharing, Reswitch fosters early community ties, enhances local support and helps projects gain and maintain social license more effectively.
Solstice AI
Solstice AI aims to deliver AI solutions for energy utilities, traders and solar asset owners to boost profits and manage risks amid rising solar variability.
Its product, Solstice SkyScan, uses AI with overhead imagery to locate all solar generation in a region.
Solstice SkyFlow applies AI to satellite images, predicting cloud movement – the main factor in solar output – to forecast generation at specific sites or across regions.
Since 2022, Solstice AI has completed projects for utilities and energy providers in Australia, Germany, and Spain, supporting a more resilient, efficient energy landscape.
ARENA CEO, Darren Miller, said the work that startups are doing in the renewable energy and climate change sector is of critical importance if Australia is going to achieve its goal of net zero emissions.
“The ARENA Renewables Startup Showcase has become the premier event to ensure these visionary founders connect with the right investors so that innovation in this sector continues to thrive.
“It’s exciting to again partner with Innovation Bay to present the showcase and introduce the next generation of renewable technology to the world.”
Innovation Bay CEO and Co-Founder, Phaedon Stough, said the event remains a standout highlight each year.
“Once again, we’re inspired by the exceptional talent and vibrant innovation emerging across Australia’s renewables, climate tech, and cleantech sectors,” Mr Stough said.
“This year’s record-breaking number of applicants and surge in pitching startups underscore the incredible momentum within this space. We’re thrilled to bring together these leading startups and investors to help drive growth and impact across the sector.”
