Adelaide links cleantech hub with Silicon Valley for global reach

The Lead

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the state government of South Australia and Flinders University to link the innovative Tonsley industrial parkwith Prospect Silicon Valley, a similar project in the United States.

The partnership enhances opportunities for Australian cleantech companies to find like-minded US companies and helps American companies tap into new technologies and academic research.

“The agreement sets a framework that will help entrepreneurs in both Adelaide and San Jose to commercialise their innovations and bring them to global customers,” says South Australian manufacturing and innovation minister Kyam Maher.

“Tonsley, Flinders University, and Prospect Silicon Valley will share information and work together to enhance cleantech development and develop a lively community of partner companies both here in Adelaide and in San Jose.

“The MoU also commits the three parties to jointly promote and endorse Tonsley and the Environmental Innovation Centre in San Jose to national and international audiences.”

Prospect Silicon Valley’s Executive Director Doug Davenport said his organisation was established to help companies accelerate the commercialisation and adoption of clean technologies into the market by providing a place to connect with private and public investors.

“We are truly excited about our partnership with South Australia. It’s an incredible opportunity for us, not only to look at a whole new field of companies coming from Adelaide, but to connect with a committed group of individuals who share our values around sustainability and innovation,” he said.

Flinders University’s School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematicsopens at Tonsley next month and will house Flinders’ New Venture Institute, Flinders Partners, the Centre for NanoScale Science and Technology and the Medical Devices Research Institute.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling said the agreement harnesses the University’s clean technology knowledge and research skills with the commercialisation capabilities of Prospect Silicon Valley.

“Our strength in this area was underscored by the establishment in 2013 of a $1 million Clean Technology Laboratory dedicated to developing products and processes in a cleaner, greener way, and ongoing collaborations in China exploring the sustainable development of new products and materials,” Professor Stirling said.

Prospect Silicon Valley assists innovators from around the world to demonstrate clean technologies by providing access to public infrastructure, working space and resources such as demonstration facilities, equipment and office space

It also seeks to build relationships with potential customers, brand visibility, market-entry opportunities in Silicon Valley, collaboration and integration with other emerging technologies as well as sources of public and private capital.

Source: The Lead. Reproduced with permission.