Tag: cleantech

Technological progress is getting exponential. From computing power to our understanding of genetics, change is occurring now more quickly than ever before....

Climate change is the hot topic this week as PM Julia Gillard unveils her plan for a carbon tax. Never the wall-flower, Innovation Minister Kim Carr also wants to see Australia become a driving force in cleantech innovation, last week launching The Australian Clean Technologies Ideas Competition.

Start with one person. Give them some light. Show them the way. That's what Barefoot Power is doing in developing communities in Africa and elsewhere. By replacing kerosene-fed lamps with its highly innovative and practical solar-powered LEDs, it provides the poor with access to electricity and one very necessary tool for economic development… light. For their tireless efforts toward raising up their fellow humans (while cleaning up the environment), Barefoot Power is king of the hill, top of the heap — the Coolest Company in Anthill’s 2010 Cool Company Awards!

Energy Matters is one of Australia's leading sellers and installers of sun-borne energy. The company has embraced its role as an online trailblazer, serving as a vocal advocate for renewable-energy legislation and being available when the media needs an expert sound bite. Energy Matters describes itself as "the Fonzie of solar. It doesn’t get much cooler than a company that is helping to cool the globe!" Eyyy!

Gretha Oost is an innovator with a passion for environmental protection and a knack for marketing her own ideas. Her latest creation is 321 Water, a portable, on-the-go water filter. The name refers to the three litres of water required to normally make one litre of bottled water.

Change2 provides an online educations program for large Australian companies that want to make deep, lasting changes in environmental sustainability. Teaching companies how to introduce sustainable practices, by helping organisations reduce their carbon commissions, Change2 is also helping the world become a cooler place... quite literally.

Participants in the "Grow Me the Money" program saved an average of $8,619 on their utility bills this year, ending June 30, compared the previous year. The firms also saved an average of 78.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide, a one-year improvement of 29 percent. That's the equivalent of taking 18 cars off the road.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards is one of the most prestigious awards for business in Australia. The purpose of the Entrepreneur of the Year award is to recognize excellence in entrepreneurial achievement and business leadership. Established internationally twenty-four years ago, The Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year contest is currently held in over 50 different countries.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards is one of the most prestigious awards for business in Australia. The purpose of the Entrepreneur of the Year award is to recognize excellence in entrepreneurial achievement and business leadership. Established internationally twenty-four years ago, The Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year contest is currently held in over 50 different countries.

There's an interesting post over on Springwise about Pavegen slabs, an eco innovation by UK-based Pavegen Systems, which harvest the kinetic energy from pedestrian footsteps and converts it into electricity.

This week we were presented with further evidence that cleantech is rapidly gaining mainstream status in Australia with the launch yesterday of the Sydney Cleantech Network (SCN).

Sports stadiums have typically been Colosseum-type structures, designed to leave an imposing mark on the landscape. However, as reported in the excellent sustainable design blog Inhabitat, Los Angeles-based NBBJ Architects have turned the stadium concept on its head with this proposed design for China's new Dalian Shide Stadium.

So while this $US32.5 million US Government funding for UltraBattery is certainly a tremendous validation for the technology and the CSIRO researchers who developed it, the international licensing option pursued means that Australia will, in all likelihood, only receive couch change from what stands to be an extremely lucrative venture for the foreign companies (Furukawa Battery Company and East Penn) that are actually doing the commercialisation.

If we are to defend and improve our competitive standing as a first-tier global economy, Australia needs to invest heavily in the development of...

If we are to defend and improve our competitive standing as a first-tier global economy, Australia needs to invest heavily in the development of...

There can be no more important mission for today’s innovators than saving the planet. In Australia, the cleantech industry recently rose to the challenge...