Sydney, 16 May 22024 - The second annual Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge, “Retrofit Nation”, is being launched in Sydney during Climate Action Week. The Challenge is calling on startups to rapidly convert half the Australian vehicle fleet to electric vehicles (EVs), which is over 10 million vehicles.
One of the immediately viable opportunities lies in retrofitting existing heavy vehicles with lithium batteries to support the move to an electric vehicle fleet. In 2022 our transport sector contributed to 19% of Australia’s emissions. Trucks, buses and light commercial vehicles account for about 40% of the total transport figure and the industry comprises a relatively small group of decision makers that can accelerate change.
A recent report from Beyond Zero Emissions shows that battery technologies are emerging as one of the most promising sectors for Australia's economic growth and decarbonisation efforts, potentially creating up to 20,000 jobs and AU$114 billion revenue by 2035.
The Challenge is open to startups, entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers are to develop and present solutions to questions such as:
- What are the next-generation drivetrain solutions and battery technologies we can apply and how do we produce them at scale?
- How do we invent and apply advanced manufacturing techniques?
- What are the software solutions to integrate drivetrain upgrades with existing vehicle technology, to add advanced driver-assist technologies and to maximise their energy storage benefits (Vehicle-to-Grid)?
- How do we most efficiently train and upskill the workforce required to complete the retrofits and adhere to safety compliance?
Startups receive prizes, support, networking and mentoring to accelerate their success.
“Transport is an obvious target for reform, particularly in Australia with our reliance on road freight and use of mining vehicles. We need to encourage the supply of more EV’s sooner into the Australian and global markets. Putting electric motors and batteries into existing vehicles at scale and massively increasing Australian battery demand is a sure-fire and fast-track way of getting it done,” said Danny Kennedy, CEO New Energy Nexus.
“The mass EV retrofit opportunity can help to upskill the Australian workforce including electricians, mechanics, software developers with critical skills in advanced manufacturing, batteries and EV's - essential for our economy in the future. The Supercharge Australia
Innovation Challenge will unleash innovation from the startup community and capture ideas that show how we can make this mass EV retrofit opportunity a reality,” said Megan Fisher, CEO EnergyLab
“Australia produces half of the world’s lithium yet retains less than 1% of the value it produces. We can’t just keep sending our lithium offshore where others capture its value. It’s time we change this, together,” said Kirk McDonald, Project Manager Supercharge Australia.
“We’d need AU$181 billion worth of batteries to retrofit half the Australian vehicle fleet, or 20x our current near term forecast demand to 2030. This quantity would de-risk and incentivise lithium battery and cell production in Australia, in the best case using our world-class renewable energy resources.
“So, in support of the Prime Minister’s ‘Future Made in Australia’ initiative, there’s even broader advanced battery manufacturing ecosystem advantages as reasons to proceed and we look forward to seeing the innovative solutions that we know Australian startups are so good at.”
Participants in the inaugural Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge raised over AU$40 million in funding subsequent to the first challenge. The second Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge will uncover more opportunities for rapid support and growth for Australian solutions.
The second annual Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge, “Retrofit Nation” will launch on Thursday 16 May at 3pm (AEST) at EnergyLab Sydney: 4-12 Buckland St, Chippendale NSW 2008, Australia.
Contact details:
Kirk McDonald, Project Manager Supercharge Australia, [email protected], +61 412 336 848
Tristan Tremschnig, Global Communications Director, [email protected] (based in San Francisco)