Australia’s local weather tech sector now employs greater than 7,000 folks throughout greater than 730 startups and scaleups, which attracted $680 million in enterprise funding in 2025.
The evaluation of native sector and its momentum and progress characteristic within the 2025 Australian Climate Tech Industry Report, released today by Local weather Salad founder Mick Liubinskas.
“This report is filled with optimism. After years of onerous work, these local weather options are able to scale,” he stated.
“With even the briefest take a look at this {industry}, it’s clear that the power, sustainability and nature constructive {industry} has pushed well beyond inexperienced premiums and straight into financial profit.
“We’ve been racing disastrous tipping factors and with the energy on this report, it’s beginning to appear to be we’d simply save ourselves.”
This 12 months’s report spoke with 80 firms and 37 sustainability champions to get their view on the state of play in local weather tech.
It paints an image of elevated capital funding and quickly scaling firms, alongside international consideration and expertise within the Australian ecosystem at a time when authorities coverage has begun to show favourably in direction of local weather tech.
Wednesday’s ASX listing of seven-year-old Tasmanian scaleup Sea Forest, which makes use of seaweed to scale back livestock methane emissions, which noticed its share value pop greater than 20% on its opening day of commerce suggests the general public urge for food for investing in local weather tech can also be robust.
Unbelievable alternative
Liubinskas believes there’s additionally “unbelievable alternative” in a spread of options, from inexperienced metal and demanding minerals to dwelling electrification and AI-powered agriculture, with Australian local weather tech firms more and more delivering improvements the world needs.
“There’s pleasure. It’s not hype, it’s earned optimism,” he says within the introduction to the report, describing local weather tech at scale as a crew sport.
“Sure, it’s robust. Sure, there’s threat. However this {industry} is full of people that select motion, who construct even when the trail is unclear, and who know that local weather tech isn’t only a sector. Sure, it’s a rollercoaster, and, at instances, it kinda appears like a rom-com. But it surely’s additionally a mission.”
The decision to motion in more and more aggressive international markets is rolling out public funding sooner to guide, and safe financial progress. Progress in inexperienced jobs additionally must be matched by a serious funding in sustainability expertise improvement.
Local weather tech by sector. Supply: 2025 Australian Local weather Tech Business Report
The 61-page evaluation lists 49 local weather tech gamers with the potential for unicorn standing – a $1 billion valuation – with title already producing greater than $10 million in income and/or international prospects
They embrace Brighte, MGA Thermal, SunDrive, Xefco, Amber Electrical, Samsara Eco, and JET Cost.
Malcolm Thornton, head of progress capital on the federal government-backed Clear Power Finance Company, labelled the momentum “extremely encouraging” amid a broad deal with reaching Australia’s web zero targets.
“The transition to a web zero financial system is creating thrilling alternatives for brand new applied sciences and enterprise fashions, demanding fast innovation and the acceleration of commercialisation. There’s an actual want for specialist threat capital to scale up these enterprises as they drive emissions discount,” he stated.
“Local weather tech investments from the CEFC span direct fairness and fund investments, with commitments usually starting from $5 million to $30 million. Investments are made throughout all sectors of the financial system, together with the constructed surroundings, power, transport, {industry} and pure capital.”
$1.3bn in new funding
The report recognized $10 billion in new public funding coming on-line within the final 18 months from the likes of the Future Made in Australia, ARENA, and the Nationwide Reconstruction Fund, amid $164 billion in potential funding. The non-public VC funds elevated their capital pool by $310 million – virtually 50% – amid $957m for local weather tech. Main that pack was Wollemi Capital, with $230 million dedicated by REST Tremendous for a brand new fund.
Private and non-private local weather tech funding. Supply: 2025 Australian Local weather Tech Business Report
However benchmarking local investment against global capital, the Climate Tech Industry Report concluded that Australia is under-investing primarily based on GDP and our property. Power, principally renewables; and meals/land, principally proteins, lead funding, and knowledge centre sustainability is predicted to develop rapidly over the subsequent 5 years, however storage lacks funding regardless of the nation’s aggressive benefit.
Different sectors the place underinvestment was recognized embrace meals waste, aviation, marine, HVAC (heating and air conditioning) and regenerative agriculture.
Emissions discount or removing represents 51% of the impression by local weather tech firms. Surprisingly, asking founders about their impression, 18% reported no impression metrics in any respect , which Local weather Salad describes as a missed alternative for credibility, funding, and alignment with rising local weather reporting requirements.
Startup impression. Supply: 2025 Australian Local weather Tech Business Report
Dr Jehan Kanga, founding father of hydrogen storage startup Rux Energy, stated the clear tech {industry} is going through funding headwinds brought on by delays in delivering local weather insurance policies throughout key international jurisdictions – a reference almost certainly to the US and dramatic about face in insurance policies by new US president Donald Trump’s administration.
“Nonetheless, the basics are very robust with many applied sciences delivering important price financial savings. Price competitiveness with fossil gasoline is right here. India and China understand it, and they’re doubling down and giga-scaling,” he stated.
Australia’s strategic alternative is double down ourselves, kind worldwide partnerships to catapult market entry, and proceed to supply (each governmental and personal) funding to Australian clear and deep techs to allow international market seize at this important second of change. The result shall be distinctive returns on funding, and the emergence of the Australian local weather tech giants, as our clear options displace fossil fuels all all over the world.”
AI’s impression
Synthetic intelligence is seen as enjoying a key position as {industry} appears to transition to scale back and account for carbon footprint and power consumption.
Futurist Mark Pesce from One Billion Seconds stated whereas AI is enhancing in effectivity, the power calls for of information centres at the moment outstrips any positive factors.
“Regardless of these quick environmental prices, AI appears to turn into a necessary software for accelerating the trail to a climate-positive future, essential to deal with the complexity of the local weather disaster, citing its potential to optimise power utilization in real-time, speed up materials science breakthroughs for batteries and carbon seize, and help companies in navigating complicated sustainability reporting,” he stated.
“In the end, whereas AI at the moment provides to the worldwide carbon burden, it capabilities as a obligatory funding that may pace up the technological convergence required to resolve local weather change in the long term.”
Inexperienced jobs
With regards to jobs, global demand for inexperienced expertise is rising at twice the tempo of inexperienced expertise available in the market, and greater than half of all inexperienced hires happen in non-green job titles, signalling that sustainability data is more and more important throughout mainstream roles in operations, manufacturing, provide chain and finance.
Employees with inexperienced expertise are additionally considerably extra aggressive, with a hiring charge almost 47% above the worldwide common.
The position of tech for inexperienced expertise. Supply: 2025 Australian Local weather Tech Business Report
