Climate Salad, a climate tech ecosystem supported by Qantas, KPMG, AWS and W23, has published its 2023 Australian Climate Tech Industry Report, which found that the industry needs $1.5 billion investment in the next 12 months.
The report, the largest survey of Australian tech climate founders, states that this investment will create the high value jobs and globally ambitious companies required to build Australia’s net zero economy.
“There is no sugar-coating the situation we are in. Our planet is heading towards an epic disaster,” said Mick Liubinkas, co-founder and CEO of Climate Salad.
“However, we don’t need to get stuck in anxiety and apathy. There is hope, and more importantly, action.
“Australian climate tech founders are strong, smart, collaborative and ambitious. I am incredibly optimistic about the future of the Australian climate tech sector and our ability to impact meaningful change.
“However, we need more industry collaboration, more government support, and more investment dollars. $1.5 billion sounds like a lot of capital for one sector, but serious issues require serious investment, and this is the principal issue of our time.”
As a rapidly-growing industry currently worth over $4 billion, Australian climate tech can play a vital role in meeting looming 2030 renewables and CO2 emissions reductions targets, and to help avert climate catastrophe.
In support of this, climate tech is also a priority area for the new $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.
The report says that further industry collaboration and investment is essential, especially considering the recent market downturn that has made raising capital more difficult.
“Climate tech founders are no strangers to thinking big. After all, the entrepreneurs in this ecosystem are courageous enough to take on the largest challenge in human history,” said Amanda Price, partner at KPMG Enterprise, and co-lead Transactions and Ventures.
“However, with this large-scale thinking comes large-scale challenges – proven by the fact that nearly half of all climate techs are developing a new technology from scratch. There is no playbook, which is why having support around you in critical as you grow.”
Key findings of the report include:
- Australian climate tech founders raised $553 million in 2022 (up from $338 million in 2021), and founders are seeking to raise more than $1.5 billion in the next 12 months.
- On average, climate tech companies grew their revenues by 88 per cent over the last 12 months.
- 97 per cent of founders are currently hiring, and there is projected to be over 5000 people employed by climate tech companies by 2024.
- The number of ventures with at least one female founder has grown from 39 per cent in 2022 to 44 per cent in 2023.
- 47 per cent of Australian climate tech companies already have overseas customers and 72 per cent intend to expand into a new international market this year.
- Climate Salad members have ambitions to remove 1300 gigatons by 2030.
- The largest sub-sectors within the Australian climate tech ecosystem are circular economy (21%), data/finance (17%) and agri-food (13%).
