Each start-up will receive up to £100,000 in funding and access to NZTC’s network of mentors, investors, and sponsors, including bp, Equinor, ADNOC and ConocoPhillips, the latter of which joined the programme this year. Start-ups will also benefit from industry support opportunities including field trials.
The programme leverages entrepreneurial ingenuity to discover and propel critical technologies required for the energy transition. Following 15 weeks of investor readiness training, refining business models, business storytelling and more, the programme will culminate in a Demo Day in June 2024. This will provide the start-ups with an opportunity to showcase their solutions to industry and investors, with potential to win further funding.
Following graduation from the programme, TechX also provides two additional years of growth support, and continued access to NZTC’s network and co-working facilities.
The selected start-ups are:
Airspection: Drones designed for more reliable, more robust and safer offshore infrastructure inspection
Apleum: Technology to convert renewable energy, carbon dioxide and water into zero carbon jet fuel
Kali Technology: Carbon-zero industrial process heating using low cost, integrated heat pump technology
Frontier Robotics: Platform-agnostic software and associated hardware for autonomous underwater inspections
HyWaves: Power management control system to increase hydrogen production for dedicated solar-to-hydrogen, and lowering cost
H2CHP: Fuel-flexible power generator targeted at ports offering full control over the combustion process to operate at high efficiency with zero carbon emissions
INERGIO Technologies: Novel system design that combines advantages of fuel cells and diesel generators for sustainable off-grid and backup power solutions
MECHAPRES: High-temperature heat pump with embedded thermal storage for industrial heat decarbonisation, with heat and steam as a service potential
Modjoule: Smart, battery-equipped containers for cost-effective electrification of shipping vessels
Reaforma: Leveraging construction waste for secure carbon capture and storage in a novel carbon-negative composite
Soltropy: Novel solar thermal technology for buildings that harvests carbon neutral heat all year round
SurreyH2: Lower cost green hydrogen production technology using a recirculating catalyst, with intrinsic hydrogen storage capability
To date, 57 start-ups have been supported through the programme. The alumni have collectively generated £32 million in revenue, and created 443 new jobs. With seven commercialisations already achieved, TechX alumni companies are demonstrating steady growth, and are forecast to enable 20-25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions savings per year by 2030.
“As NZTC welcomes its sixth TechX cohort, we reiterate the pivotal role entrepreneurs will play in accelerating the energy transition” said Mark Anderson, Chief Acceleration Officer & TechX Director. “This year's cohort introduces compelling innovations, offering solutions to propel the adoption of clean and affordable energy. TechX start-ups are the companies of the future, poised to reshape the energy landscape and help lead us towards net zero.”
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