Capital Markets Report: Kiwi start-ups on the map at Indo-Pacific Climate Tech 100

Auckland-based Mint Innovation's first e-waste "biorefinery", located in Sydney.

Eight Kiwi start-ups made the cut for the inaugural Indo-Pacific Climate Tech 100, unveiled in Singapore last week.

This is no mean feat given the 100 firms, spanning multiple industries, were chosen from a pool of more than 10,000 global applicants, based on factors such as the products’ unique ability to address climate challenges, team and leadership structure, and success to date.

Revealed by HolonIQ during the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Clean Investor Forum, the companies were identified as part of the initiative that’s designed to help drive IPEF’s mission of accelerating clean energy investment in the Indo-Pacific region.

The companies are: Miruku, Mint Innovation, Neocrete, Aspiring Metals, Bspkl, CarbonScape, Fabrum and OpenStar.

Mint Innovation CEO and Co-founder Will Barker said Mint’s inclusion in the Climate Tech 100 serves as a testament to the organisation’s commitment to pioneering innovative and scalable technology that truly addresses climate challenges, while also focusing on building a strong diverse team that’s passionate about making a real impact.

The Singapore forum brought together 300 participants from the region’s top investors, cutting-edge project proponents, innovative start-up entrepreneurs, Ministers and senior government officials.

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is an initiative between the US, Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. IPEF ministers, including US Secretary of Commerce and New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay, met in Singapore last week and attended the forum.

The IPEF countries account for $US125 billion ($204b) of the $US240b invested into Climate Tech since 2010 with the US accounting for around half of total investments. The Kiwi start-ups may not have been seeking more capital immediately but they are now on the map.

Among large-scale New Zealand investors at the forum were: 2040 Ventures, Greenbridge Capital Management, Morrison Global, New Zealand Green Investment Finance and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

Who made the cut?

1. Miruku: Miruku is developing a “Dairy Seed System” where bio-designed oilseed crops will produce dairy protein and dairy-like fats in their seeds.

Chair: Ira Bing and Amos Palfreyman (CEO). Funds raised: US$8 million.

2. Mint Innovation: Mint Innovation uses biotechnology and smart chemistry to recover green metals from waste, including lithium batteries.

CEO: Dr Will Barker. Funds raised: US$55m.

3. Neocrete: Neocrete is re-engineering concrete to be carbon-zero, using an additive that activates low-carbon, low-cost materials such as volcanic ash to act like cement without needing heat.

CEO: Zarina Bazoeva. Funds raised US$4m.

4. Aspiring Metals: Aspiring Metals has a world-first solution that uses minerals derived from rocks to capture and store CO2 in one step.

CEO: Mark Chadderton. Funds raised: $US1-$US5m.

5. Bspkl: Bspkl aims to place their catalyst-coated membrane in every electrolyser for clean hydrogen production, enhancing efficiency and performance.

CEO: Christina Houlihan. Funds raised: US$1.5m

6. CarbonScape: CarbonScape is the first in the world to create technology for sustainable, high-quality biographite made from renewable materials.

CEO: Ivan Williams. Funds raised US$10m plus.

7. Fabrum: Fabrum is a powerful partnership of precision engineering and technological excellence in cryogenics, leveraging patented dual-diaphragm pressure wave generator technology and large-scale linear pulse tubes.

CEO: Ojas Mahapatra. Funds raised: $US10m plus.

8. OpenStar: OpenStar is an energy start-up pursuing the development of fusion reactors for baseload power to the grid. Building upon the ground-breaking experiments of the levitated dipole pioneered by both LDX at MIT, and RT-1 at the University of Tokyo, OpenStar embraces the natural stability inherent to the dipole field – creating efficient, robust fusion reactors to power the future.

CEO: Ratu Mataira. Funds raised: US$12m.