Corran Toohill - tech2mkt Blog

I went to the 3rd AustralAsian Cleantech Forum in Melbourne, Australia back in April 2007. Jeff and Peter Castellas and the rest of the team did a great job. There was good representation from start-ups, service providers, venture investors, industry groups, policymakers and even the pension fund industry (Australia has the world's fourth largest pool of pension funds).

Despite a small population (around half that of California), Australia and New Zealand are strong in R&D and prolific producers of new technology. Clean tech is a particular strength. Unfortunately, there is a gap in early stage investing in Australia.

Here are three of the ten companies profiled at the event (selected purely on the basis of having an interesting story):

Anzode - A New Zealand company that enables the production of compact, low-cost rechargeable zinc batteries on existing production lines.
BioPower Systems - Ocean power generators based on a sea plant or tuna tail. Instead of fighting the ocean they work with the flow to generate more energy at a lower capital cost.
Earth Systems Technologies - Harnessing natural processes to create ground-water barriers.

Bottom Line: Look for some great clean technology coming from Australia.