News
Climate Tech Partners has secured $50 million for their first close, including $15 million each from Australia Ethical Investments and Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Sally-Ann Williams steps down as CEO of Cicada Innovations after a 6 year tenure.
Giant Leap released their 2025 Impact Startups Benchmark Report.
Ecopha — an Australian biotech producing fully biodegradable and marine-safe plastics — has expanded to Suzhou, China, in a joint venture.
The AFR have released their Sustainability Leaders list, with Team Global Express — responsible for the biggest trial of electric trucks in the world — taking overall winner.
Stacked Farm was the winner in the Agriculture and environment category, developing a vertical farming system for herbs and leafy salads requiring no human intervention.
The winner in the Banking, Insurance, Superannuation and Financial Services category was Xero, who recently partnered with carbon accounting start-up Sumday.
Samsara Eco partners with lululemon in 10 year deal to supply the retailer with recycled nylon and polyester.
Vow is the first Australian company to be given approval to sell cultured meat.
Have something to share with the community? Send it through to evan@climatesalad.com
Programs
Austrade Europe, UK & Israel | Australian Trade & Investment Commission has launched the new London Landing Pad, giving Australian tech companies extra support to enter and thrive in the UK market.
Their UK Export Acceleration Bootcamp is free and runs virtually from the 28th of July. This program will help Australian technology businesses capitalise on the vast opportunities in the UK through:
- Comprehensive content on building your go-to-market strategy
- Live webinars and Q&A from UK market experts
- Individual mentoring support from our Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
Applications close 17 July. Express your interest below
CQUniversity is offering a free, 2 hour micro-credential on greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonisation concepts for SMEs and those in the mining industry.
GenAi Open Innovation Program
What is it?
An AI Matchmaking Event (co-hosted with AWS) in HCMC, Vietnam on July 3, where you can:
- Pitch your AI solution in 1:1 meetings with enterprise buyers
- Engage directly with C-level innovation leaders
- Access real opportunities to co-develop funded AI pilots
Participating enterprises:
- Mobility & Infra: Tasco Group, Dong Tam Group, Sime Darby Property, Volkswagen SG
- Tech & Telco: VNG Games, Globe
- Agri: GreenFeed
Who is it for?
GenAI start-ups looking to expand into the Vietnam market
—
Applications close tomorrow (25th June)!
Climate Salad Member News
Climate Salad members including Sally Giblin (Be the Future) and Rob Chan (Turo) have been featured by Robin Wyatt (Greenhouse) in his ‘Humans of Sydney Climate Action’ project. You can follow it here.
Dolly Oladini (Community Manager at Climate Salad) joined Greenhouse as their Programs and Partner Activation Manager.
An ask from Dani Sangster in our Slack:
“Chiming in from the States on behalf of a peer of mine. His name is Zachary Price and he is working on researching Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement. To this end, his team is evaluating sites in Australia for a pilot research project, however they need to start their regulatory engagement process immediately.
I’m reaching out to this community to see if anyone has insights on the states and territories that are looking into this/ are advocating for work like this. I also directed him to CSIRO as they have a project going in this area. Let me know!”
You can reach out to Zachary directly via email at zachary.price.or@gmail.com
Events
Jun 26th, 5:30PM - 7:30PM (SYD) | Scaling Climate Deep Tech Startups: from Lab to Market
Join us for an insightful evening as we delve into the journey of scaling climate deep tech startups in Australia.
Key Topics:
- Navigating funding landscapes and regulatory frameworks
- Building and retaining specialised talent
- Overcoming scaling hurdles
- Establishing global partnerships and market entry strategies
- Insights into Australia's climate tech ecosystem
Jun 26th, 6:00PM - 8:00PM (MEL) | Melbourne Climate Crew Catch-up
If you've joined before, you know this is the best event of the month. If you haven't, come and meet us, make friends and professional connections, dip your toe into the world of climate or dazzle us with stories about what matters to you.
Jul 3rd, 4:00PM - 6:00PM (TAS) | Leading Climate Adaptation - Free Industry Panel & Networking
This free panel discussion and networking event exploring the critical questions Tasmanian organisations need to be asking as they respond to growing climate risks, carbon reporting obligations, and rising expectations around sustainability leadership.
Jul 15th, 11:30AM - 12:30PM (ONLINE) | AMA Foundry Cohort 5
Foundry is Blackbird’s launchpad for PhD students, early-career researchers and established researchers who want to turn their deep tech ideas into successful startups.
This AMA will answer your burning questions about the Cohort 5 program and application process!
Jul 16th, 2:00PM - 4:00PM (SYD) | Climate Action Planning: Two-part Workshop Series for Small B Corps
This two-part workshop series will help certified B Corps develop a climate action plan, which is the key requirement under the new Climate Action Impact Topic in the new standards.
This workshop is designed for Certified B Corps who are in the Small, Micro, or Company without Workers size categories – only B Corps with up to 49 full-time-equivalent workers, or up to US$10 million in revenue should attend.
Jul 17th, 9:30AM - 5:30PM (SYD) | Australia China Cleantech Roundtable
The inaugural Australia China Cleantech Collaboration Round Table convenes senior decision-makers from industry, government, and research institutions for focused, solutions-oriented dialogue on accelerating the clean energy transition and strengthening Australia - China ties.
This executive-level, closed-door forum will:
- Surface concrete barriers to bilateral cleantech cooperation
- Identify high-impact opportunities for joint initiatives
- Develop actionable policy and business recommendations
- Forge strategic partnerships between Australian and Chinese stakeholders
Jul 17th, 6:00PM - 7:00PM (SYD) | Building a Career in Climate
Join us for an evening of real talk with professionals who've built meaningful careers in clean energy, climate tech, and sustainability.
We'll unpack what it actually looks like to work in climate, the skills in demand, and how to take your next step. Plus, we’ll be launching the next Climate Stream - an 8-week career accelerator designed to help you do just that.
Climbing the Deep Tech Mountains of Climate Innovation
People talk about ‘valleys of death’ in climate innovation, but I prefer to think of them as mountains to scale. I see three big ones over and over again for Australian companies.
At Climate Salad we’ve worked closely with deep tech founders, researchers, investors, and policymakers. We’ve seen where the friction is. We’ve also seen where the breakthroughs happen. This article maps the three big challenges — The Start, The Grind, and The Summit — and shares where we can make the biggest difference.
The Start – From Lab Bench to Launch Pad
Australia has world-class climate research, an amazing group of people at CSIRO, and a strong university system. But turning research into companies? That’s where we stall.
Challenge: IP spinouts are blocked or painfully slow. Researchers are often incentivised to publish, not commercialise. Tech transfer offices are understaffed or risk-averse. Deep tech doesn’t fit neatly into standard accelerator models or grant structures, which often cater to fast-moving software startups.
The result? Incredible climate tech sits idle, or it leaves the country.
Opportunity: The fix isn’t magic, it’s structural and personal. We need policies that make it easier to spin out IP. Clearer ownership rules. Incentives that reward commercial collaboration. We need early-stage funds that understand deep tech timelines and risk profiles. Maybe a SAFE for early IP?
We also need to pair researchers with commercial operators, who know how to validate markets, raise capital, and get to a working prototype.
The Grind – First of a Kind
This is where most companies hit the wall. They’ve got a working prototype, maybe a small pilot. But they need that First of a Kind (FOAK) customer — someone to say yes and open the door to follow-on funding.
Challenge: The first challenge is that customers are risk averse. Purchases are done by procurement, not R&D offices. Budgets are small and sales cycles are slow. The second is funding. 95% of early stage capital is software focused, looking for the next Canva. Deep tech and climate is more capital intensive, involves blended finance, a slower cadence, bigger deals. And investors don’t like to invest in things they don’t understand.
The result? Founders burn out, go overseas and don’t come back or grow to 1/100th their potential slowly.
Opportunity: We need to co-fund early customers. Government agencies, corporates, and councils should step up as FOAK adopters. They should get credit for taking the risk if it doesn’t go perfectly. Trade missions and global pilot programs can bring overseas customers into the mix faster.
At the same time, this is where operator talent becomes crucial. These companies don’t need cheerleaders, they need doers. People who can set up supply chains, close customer contracts, and manage complex project delivery. People who’ve sold deep tech to big corporations and governments, built partnerships, raised capital, and hired the talent.
The grind stage is won with sweat, not spin. Without enough capital at this stage the best way is to pay the 50 experienced people to work here until we get to critical mass and a working playbook. It’s not efficient but it’s worth it.
The Summit – Scaling to Global Impact
The final mountain is scale. Deep tech doesn’t scale with code, it scales with hardware, people, factories, and global logistics.
Challenge: Australia’s domestic market simply isn’t big enough to support most scale-stage climate tech companies. Even if you win a few local customers, it’s rarely enough to prove global relevance.
The result? Promising companies hit a ceiling. They either move overseas for growth or fizzle out at mid-scale.
Opportunity: We can fix this with smart capital and strategic partnerships. Co-investing with global funds. Supporting the ‘second wave’ of funding, not just the seed round. Creating dedicated deep tech growth funds in Australia. Welcoming international customers early, not as a last resort.
People matter most. Scaling requires an entirely different skill set: governance, systems thinking, global business development. Many founders aren’t wired for this stage, and that’s fine. The key is recognising the handover and bringing in the right leaders at the right time.
- Mick (CEO, Climate Salad)
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