CSIRO’s Energy Centre in Newcastle is home to Eighteen04 — a startup organisation formed with the intention of fostering other clean technology startups. The organisation currently provides desk space for ten different startups, and is looking to expand with a further 100 desks in the pursuit of clean, smart technology.
With a number of success stories already under its belt, Eighteen04 is looking to secure a second office space aside from its home at the CSIRO Energy Centre. One of the successful startups already hosted by the organisation is SwitchDin, a cloud-based platform for solar and battery solutions, meant to improve Aussie households’ access to renewable energy.
The CSIRO Energy Centre is the perfect space for these kinds of startups, with the ultimate aim to be a regional centre for clean tech. It boasts two concentrating solar thermal research fields, (areas that use configurations of mirrors to concentrate sunlight towards PV solar panels), a solar PV testing facilty and renewable energy storage and integration facilities which are able to assess energy and grid data.
“It’s great to be able to access leading energy researchers who share the same goal as us – a clean-technology energy future that will have a real impact for Australians,” says Eighteen04’s Executive Director, James Giblin. “We don’t have to shy away about being creative and bold thinkers. At CSIRO, it is celebrated.”
Eighteen04 also holds a local monthly event that’s supported by the CSIRO — the Innovator’s Lunch, open to businesses and like-minded individuals that are interested in green tech. CSIRO hopes to use these events to make more connections with local businesses, to share their research and work with people and companies that can make use of it — and use their input to continue to drive innovation in this field.
The next Innovators Lunch will be on June 17, and after that will be held on the third Friday of each month.
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