A Sector on the Edge of Breakthrough

Today, we’re proud to launch the 2025 Australian Climate Tech Industry Report. A comprehensive snapshot yet of Australia’s rapidly accelerating climate tech ecosystem. Featuring insights from 80 companies and 37 sustainability leaders, this year’s report paints a picture of an industry that has not just grown, but is gearing up for its next major leap forward.

Across every region, every technology class, and every level of maturity, one message comes through clearly: momentum is real, and scale is coming.

A Sector Growing Faster Than Ever

As the report highlights, Australian founders, investors, corporates and policymakers are no longer talking about potential. They’re delivering it.

According to the Big Picture section (page 10), more than 7,000 people now work in climate tech, and over $680 million in venture capital was raised in 2025 alone, across 69 deals, placing climate tech among Australia’s top three funded sectors.

This isn’t hype. It’s earned traction. They’re technologies being rolled out in real environments, delivering real impact.

Mick Liubinskas, Climate Salad Co-founder & CEO, captures this moment perfectly:

“There’s excitement. It’s not hype, it’s earned optimism. These aren’t theoretical plays, they’re boots-on-the-ground builders solving real problems with urgency and optimism.”
(Page 10)

The Flywheel Is Starting To Turn Faster

One of the most striking insights from this year’s report is just how quickly the systemic drivers of climate tech are compounding.

A framework on page 12 outlines the forces accelerating adoption: bigger problems, better economics, supportive policy, more customers and more scale.

Put simply: it is increasingly cheaper, less risky and more profitable to adopt sustainable technologies. When that tipping point arrives, adoption becomes inevitable.

Each element of the flywheel is strengthening:

• Economics: Instead of a “green premium,” climate tech is saving or generating money.
  
  
• Policy: Mandatory reporting, CBAM, PFAS regulation and renewable incentives are creating clearer markets.
  
  
• Customers: Both businesses and consumers are choosing cleaner products, for ethics and economics.
  
  
• Scale: As orders grow, costs fall. As costs fall, adoption accelerates.
  
  

Australia is entering the decade where everything changes.

Big Opportunities Across Every Sector

The report highlights that climate tech is no longer a single category, it’s a foundation for Australia’s future economy.

Strongest Growing Areas

According to page 26, the sectors showing the highest share of new startups include:

• Circular Economy (20.6%)
  
  
• Data & Finance (20%)
  
  
• Renewables (13.4%)
  
  
• Agriculture & Food (10.2%)
  

Each sector brings different capital needs, pathways to market and technology maturities and all are essential to the wider transition.

Heading to $1 Billion

Many Australian climate tech companies are already approaching unicorn status. Page 13 showcases dozens of scaling stars from AgriWebb to 5B, Samsara Eco to Goterra, FloodMapp to Amber. These companies represent the high-growth, high-impact cohort positioned to become Australia’s first climate tech giants.

Capital Is Flowing and Scaling Needs Serious Support

Venture capital remains important but it’s only one piece of the financing puzzle. Climate tech requires blended capital: grants, debt, infrastructure finance, procurement and offtakes.

Page 15 highlights the top five largest VC rounds of 2025, led by:

• NRN – $67.2M
  
  
• EVO Power – $31M
  
  
• Sundrive – $25.3M
  
  

Meanwhile, Australia’s public funding landscape is expanding. Page 18 documents over $164B+ in estimated public funds available for climate-aligned initiatives, through the CEFC, ARENA, NRF, FMIA and more.

Yet the report makes one message clear: funding must flow faster.

The Climate Capital Forum’s recommendations (pages 22–23) lay out a roadmap for unlocking growth, from early-stage cleantech support to green iron production tax credits and superannuation reform.

Without accelerated deployment of committed funds, Australia risks losing ground to regions scaling faster.

A Decisive Decade: Policy, Targets and Global Ambitions

This year, Australia set a pivotal new target: a 62–70% emissions reduction by 2035. Page 21 highlights how this sharpens demand for technologies across firmed renewables, industrial electrification, transport, carbon removal and agriculture.

Global ambitions remain strong among founders:

• 48% already operate in the EU
  
  
• 45% plan to expand into Asia
  
  
• 53% plan expansion into the US

Australia’s clean solutions are increasingly built for global markets and investors worldwide are paying attention.

The Scaling Challenge: Offtake, Infrastructure and R&D

The report shines a light on the industry’s most stubborn bottlenecks:

• Offtake agreements, described on page 27 as the “missing link” to climate tech at scale.
  
  
• R&D and demonstration funding, where Australia under-invests relative to global peers (page 36).
  
  
• Commercialisation infrastructure, needed to connect lab breakthroughs with market adoption.
  
  

These insights underscore a central theme:

Australia is world-class at innovation, but to meet the moment we must become world-class at scaling.

The Human Element: Talent, Universities and Community

This year’s report again highlights the essential role of people and partnerships.

• Universities, like UNSW through Climate 10x, are supporting deep-tech founders and accelerating science-led ventures (page 29).
  
  
• Skills development remains critical as more of Australia’s future jobs become green jobs (page 11).
  
  
• Community, the heart of Climate Salad, continues to grow in size, diversity and capability, creating the connective tissue that lifts the entire ecosystem.
  
  

Climate tech is a team sport — and the team has never been stronger.

What’s Next: A Call to Action

Every collaborator, partner, policymaker and founder will find something in this report that speaks directly to their role in the decade ahead. Whether it’s industrial decarbonisation, AI-driven optimisation, nature-based solutions, green manufacturing or home electrification, Australia’s climate tech sector is ready for scale.

And this report is an invitation.

To founders: keep building.
To investors: back with conviction.
To corporates: run the pilots, sign the off-takes, choose the innovation path.
To government: accelerate deployment of committed capital and scale-up support.
To everyone: buy the products, adopt the solutions, share the momentum.

Action beats analysis. Now is the time to build.

Download the Full 2025 Report

The full 2025 Australian Climate Tech Industry Report is available now.

Inside, you’ll find data-rich insights, founder perspectives, sector opportunity maps, regional analysis, capital trends and practical recommendations to help shape the next era of Australia’s climate economy.

👉 Download the report👉 Share it with your network
👉 Join the Climate Salad community driving Australia’s nature positive future

This is the year we break through.

Let’s go. 💚

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AI Drafted and Human Edited