Government welcomes GE’s cleantech challenge

The Minister for Industry and Innovation, Greg Combet, has welcomed the announcement by GE, in collaboration with its venture capital partners, to provide $10 million to find, fund and bring to market the best ideas from Australia and New Zealand that will improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon pollution.

GE’s ecomagination Challenge calls on businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students to submit ideas to accelerate growth in clean technology markets. The challenge is part of GE’s global ecomagination initiative.

“GE’s ecomagination Challenge demonstrates that big business also recognises the importance of innovation, not only to meet the needs of a low-carbon future, but also as a way to improve business competitiveness and productivity,” Combet said.

“GE employs 6000 people across Australia and New Zealand. Its business spans numerous sectors including capital and finance, energy, healthcare, aviation and transportation. GE has always embraced innovation as an opportunity and it is good to see them supporting a clean energy economy.”

The challenge complements the Gillard government’s $200 million Clean Technology Innovation Program, which provides grant funding for innovation in clean energy technologies on a matching basis. Recipients of Clean Technology Innovation grants will be able to use support from GE’s ecomagination Challenge as part of the private sector contribution to their project.

“The government’s program is helping businesses develop technologies to generate energy from sources like wind, solar, wave, tidal, hydro, geothermal, low-emission coal, biofuel and cogeneration. It is also helping them develop and commercialise technologies to reduce the amount of energy consumed in the treatment of water and waste management,” Combet said.

For more on the ecomagination Challenge and the commercialisation of clean technology, read our article.