Australia has a bright, fossil-fuel-free future

Australian companies that have developed world-recognised clean technology solutions to address climate change, are taking their innovations to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 27) this week. These leaders represent a bright future for a fossil-fuel free Australia.

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These companies, including Janus Electric, SwitchDin, Kardinia Energy, 5B and Tritium Charging, have practical solutions for even the most complex challenges arising from climate change and the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions fast:

• Truck battery systems for long-haul transport fleets
• Software tools that bring rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles to life to make the grid cleaner and more resilient
• Printed solar that is low-cost, adaptable and recycled entirely in-house – scalable for disaster relief, flexible enough to roll-out for remote EV charging, lightweight enough for a tent
• Rapidly deployed solar arrays for large off-grid and grid-connected facilities
• Fast electric vehicle charging, on a global scale

Their work to address climate change issues is also contributing to a potentially lucrative new market for Australian-developed and manufactured goods in the global green economy.

As a climate solutions think tank, we have calculated that Australian renewable-powered industries could replace fossil fuel exports three times over: targeting an annual revenue of more than $333b by 2050.

Five of these companies are among 18 whose work will be presented at a COP27 event hosted by Beyond Zero Emissions on Tuesday 15th November.

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More about the companies:‍

‍Janus Electric founders, Lex Forsyth and Bevan Dooley have developed a zero-emission solution for Australia’s road transport industry – an exchangeable battery system can be retrofitted to any Class 8 Prime Mover manufactured after 2012. Charged by renewable energy these batteries allow the truck to travel between 400 km to 600 kms depending on payload size, and take just four minutes to swap out. The Janus Electric’s commitment to a smarter, safer and cleaner road transport system, places them at the forefront of the next phase of road transport globally.

SwitchDin Imagine a grid with millions of smart, rooftop solar systems providing energy when and where it’s needed most. Imagine battery and electric vehicle owners teaming up with energy companies to make the grid more efficient and resilient using ‘people power’. Imagine regional microgrids that reduce dependence on expensive, imported diesel fuel by adding solar to the energy mix. SwitchDin develops the software that makes these worlds possible, by allowing solar panel systems, batteries and electric vehicles (‘distributed energy assets’) to integrate into the electricity grid’s operation. Founded in Newcastle in 2014, SwitchDin counts many of Australia’s utilities as customers, and SwitchDin technology enables virtual power plants, community batteries and other exciting innovations across the country with lessons for the rest of the world.

Kardinia Energy generates solar energy using printed sheets that are thinner than the pages of a magazine. It is fully recycled in-house and can be installed on the vast vacant roofs of industrial buildings that can’t support heavy traditional solar panels. Printed Solar is so lightweight and can easily be rolled away to take on EV road trips, used in disaster relief or – as one rock band has requested – take on a world tour. Kardinia Energy’s Printed Solar technology has received unprecedented global demand and the company is raising capital to fund a new manufacturing facility for mass production.

5B makes prefabricated and pre-wired rapidly deployed solar arrays that can be installed faster than conventional solar, more safely and with less labour. This Australian-born company operates today out of Australia, the United States and Chile. To date, 5B has deployed well over 60MW of its ground mount solar arrays across more than 100 sites across the world. It set a new speed record earlier this year, deploying 1.1MW in a single day with a team of 10 in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Tritium Charging has tackled the most common concerns for people buying an electric vehicle: will there be a charger where I need one, and will it take forever to charge my car? From start-up headquarters in a South Brisbane shed in 2001 to today, Tritium has grown to become the world’s second-largest fast charging company, and is listed on the NASDAQ. Tritium has contracts across the US, and in Europe. In Australia Tritium recently contracted to supply fast chargers for Australia’s 7000 km EV superhighway.

BZE has collaborated with the Australian Government to exhibit regionally-based Australian manufacturers at the world’s biggest annual climate conference, COP27. Companies showcased on Tuesday create environmentally safe technologies and new goods and services for the global green economy. These include high purity aluminium, modular solar, renewable energy storage and more

Sanaya Khisty, Beyond Zero Emissions Chief Strategy Officer, said, “We are delighted to bring some of the most innovative companies from Australia’s regions to the world stage. This showcase is an announcement to political leaders and the international community that Australian cleantech is open for business.”

COP attendees can view the display and meet some of the companies at the Australian Pavilion on Tuesday 15 November, 9 am – 10 am.

To learn more about the technologies on show contacts are below

• 5B Agnes King, Communications Manager: +61 411 616 470, agnes.king@5b.com.au
• SwitchDin James Martin, Communications Manager: +61 478 587 369, james.martin@switchdin.com
• Kardinia Energy Sam Clifton, Head of Operations, +61 491 312 283
• Beyond Zero Emissions Josh Comer, Head of Fundraising and Marketing: +61 431 048 550, josh.comer@bze.org.au