Feds give CEFC $500m funding boost for renewable tech commercialisation

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, effectively the federal government’s green bank, has been allocated a further $500 million (USD 332 million) to invest in the commercialisation of renewable energy, energy efficiency and other technology innovations.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen with Industry Minister Ed Husic, Gelion founder Thomas Maschmeyer, Gelion CEO Hannah McCaughey, and Battery Energy Power Solutions mechanical engineer Ziyad Zalda. Gelion, a storage technology startup based in Sydney, is currently in the process of commercialising its zinc-bromide battery innovation.

Image: Chris Bowen/Facebook

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The $500 million allocation from the Albanese government will form part of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s (CEFC’s) Powering Australia Technology Fund.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the fund will also aim to leverage a further $500 million from the private sector and include a “growth capital” offering for clean energy technology businesses looking to expand.

“While we excel in research, Australia has been losing out for too long when it comes to commercialisation,” Minister Bowen said about the funding boost. “We need to continue developing innovative technologies that will help power Australia, and realising more of their economic benefits here.”

Bowen pointed to ventures like “energy-efficient smart city sensors and innovations in solar arrays and battery technologies” as possible avenues where CEFC’s funding could flow.

The $500 million allocation will be added to CEFC’s so-called “Special Account,” the minister’s statement said, and the details of the fund will be included in CEFC’s investment mandate.

“Through the Powering Australia Technology Fund, Australian businesses will be able to scale up creative projects using clean energy technologies,” Bowen said.

The Powering Australia Technology Fund will be similar to CEFC’s Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which supports early-stage companies developing technology to reduce emissions.

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