“Despite the current market that traditional SaaS (software as a service) VCs are currently operating in, we are seeing high-quality deal flow in advanced manufacturing and climate-tech companies with great founders remaining on the lookout for investment,” Mr Bagnall told The Australian Financial Review.
“We officially announced Melt Ventures in December 2022, so we’ve seen a real appetite from investors to invest in high-growth companies in the
advanced manufacturing sector, including clean technologies such as renewable energy and storage, automation and robotics, agriculture and transport, as well as advanced materials and space.”
Endua’s founder and CEO Paul Sernia, says hydrogen will play a key role in the renewable energy transition.
Endua is based in Brisbane and has developed a way to store renewable energy using modular hydrogen power banks.
It says these can store renewable energy as hydrogen, before converting it back to electricity by fuel cells, and can drive power loads of up to 100kW in a single module — enough to power a water pump, farm shed or standalone telecom infrastructure.
Endua’s funding comprised a $7.5 million equity round, which included money from Queensland Investment Corporation, 77 Partners, the CSIRO’s Main Sequence Ventures and transport fuel company Ampol.
It has also received $4.3 million in grants, including the Entrepreneurs’ Programme Accelerating Commercialisation Grant, the Co-operative Research Centres Project, and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre Grant.
“The climate tech sector has garnered increased attention and support in
recent years. The global transition toward cleaner and more sustainable energy sources has created an environment that is more receptive to breakthrough solutions like ours,” Endua’s founder and chief executive Paul Sernia said when asked about the challenge of raising capital in the current market.
“Green hydrogen is a relatively new clean energy source with the potential to become an unrivalled tool to replace fossil fuels in those sectors that are more difficult to decarbonise. As a result, these technologies are increasingly garnering interest from investors.”
Mr Sernia said that by storing excess renewable energy in the form of hydrogen, Endua’s solutions provided a means to overcome the intermittency challenges of renewable sources.
Users can tap into their stored energy during periods of high
demand or when renewable energy generation is insufficient, reducing reliance on traditional power grids.
“Our products at Endua are proudly manufactured in Australia … We’re currently establishing our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Archerfield, Queensland,” he said.
Main Sequence partner Martin Duursma said Endua was at the forefront of renewable energy innovation, because it had created a new energy solution with long-duration storage.
“Having identified innovative electrolyser technology from Australian research, the company has embarked on its mission to build products that deliver multi-day energy storage solving one of the critical challenges that intermittent renewables bring,” Mr Duursma said.
“We’re excited about the potential of Endua and its ambitious plans to drive affordable and reliable renewable energy.”
