TRaCE, Virescent invest $1.6 million through Climate 10x accelerator program

The Trailblazer for Recycling & Clean Energy (TRaCE) and Virescent Ventures have announced that they will partner to invest $1.6 million in climate tech startups through UNSW Founders Climate 10x accelerator program. 

The 10x program accepted its first intake last year, with a program running from August 2 until October 6, with a demo day on October 26, as part of TRaCE.

The first cohort included startups “decarbonising diesel engines, revolutionising the asphalt industry and accelerating manufacturing material discovery with AI” according to a joint statement from UNSW Founders, TRaCE and Virescent on Tuesday.

The $1.6 million in funding for the program represented “the largest investment made to climate tech startups through an accelerator program in Australian history” they added. The contribution from each was not broken down.

“Virescent Ventures supported our inaugural launch of the Climate 10x program last year which was a huge success, providing founders from across the country with the capital, commercial perspective and strategic vision that they require to go on and make their business a viable success,” said Eleni Assargiotis, Program Manager of the 10x program.  

“This renewed support and investment, alongside the ongoing support from TRaCE, serves as an important vehicle to ensure promising climate tech startups can transform their solutions into high-impact, scalable tech companies. UNSW continues to be Australia’s most entrepreneurial university and we can’t wait to uncover the next big innovation in the climate space.”

Applications for the program open on April 12.  Applicants must be “founder or co-founder of a currently operating startup”, and can be “from any Australian University, organisation or completely independent”.

Successful applicants will receive between $120,000 and $330,000, as well as ongoing mentorship, facility access, and exposure to UNSW Founder’s investor community.

TRaCE is a University of NSW and University of Newcastle-led effort to commercialise university research, and was awarded $50 million in federal funding in 2022 for a four-year term under the Trailblazer program.

Viriscent Ventures is venture capital fund which has the Clean Energy Finance Corporation as its foundation shareholder, investing $200 million.

A free online information session is being held on February 28.

More info on the Climate and other 10x accelerator programs is available here.

Picture: credit UNSW Founders/Eventbrite

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