“Every tool in the kit:” From kerbside EV charging to microgrid building, 10 companies line up for funding, incubation

The Arena-backed start-up accelerator program that has helped to grow some of Australia’s leading climate and energy companies, including solar and battery market analysts SunWiz and consumer energy focused retailer Amber Electric, has named its latest cohort.

The group of 10 companies selected for EnergyLab’s 2026 Climate Solutions Accelerator span the gamut of decarbonisation technologies, including electrolysers, kerbside electric vehicle (EV) chargers, magnetic grid sensors, battery precursor materials, and commercial rooftop solar.

The Climate Solutions Accelerator is the flagship program run by EnergyLab, Australia’s leading incubator and accelerator for the clean energy and climate technology industry. Run since 2017, the Climate Solutions Accelerator has played a huge role in building up Australia’s own homegrown climate tech sector.

The selected companies will receive seed investment along with participation in a six-month program focused on international expansion, capital raising, and enterprise sales, supported by EnergyLab’s network of over 450 mentors and over 250 angel investors.

All 10 companies selected for the program in 2026 either builds, installs, owns, or operates physical hardware aimed at decarbonising society, marking the first cohort entirely focused on the physical hardware necessary for decarbonisation.

The cohort also span the full commercialisation curve – from pre-seed, university spinouts to mature businesses with millions in revenue.

At the more mature end of the spectrum is Catch Power, a smart energy management device maker which in 2024 acquired Sydney-based software specialist Solar Analytics, with the goal of creating an all-in-one home energy solution.

Also in the mix is EVX, an EV charging company that has specialised in the rollout of kerbside charge-points installed in existing power poles. In Victoria, EVX has partnered with RACV to install up to 40 dual pole-mounted chargers across the state.

EnergyLab says new cohort reflects where critical physical bottlenecks remain on Australia’s decarbonisation path, including public EV charging infrastructure, the coordination and optimisation of consumer energy resources, and extending the life of ageing grid assets.

“Building a net-zero economy takes every tool in the kit,” said Megan Fisher, CEO & director at EnergyLab.

“For nearly a decade, EnergyLab has backed founders bringing world-class climate solutions into the market, and this cohort is uniquely focused on the physical backbone of the transition.

“Every single team in this group is manufacturing, shipping, or installing the tangible assets – from chargers and minerals to sensors and microgrids – that Australia needs to power decarbonisation.”

Other companies in the cohort include Magnefy, a spin-out from Stanford University that monitors critical grid transformers and inverters to spot potential faults and prevent downtime.

MetroElectro, a seed company based in St Kilda in Melbourne, owns and operates rooftop solar and battery systems on commercial and industrial buildings under long-term subscription agreements, while DC3 Tech builds specialised microgrids for data centres and EV depots.

Three of this year’s cohort are already significantly backed by government funding – including ECX Australia and OzAmmonia, which both hold grants from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena), and Aspiring Materials, which has secured New Zealand government support.

The full list of EnergyLab’s 2026 Climate Solutions Accelerator is below.

The Accelerator is backed by EnergyLab’s fund manager Impact Ventures, New Energy Nexus, and Arena.

“Australia’s energy transition relies on innovative technologies moving beyond the lab and into the real world,” said Darren Miller, CEO at ARENA.

“Programs like EnergyLab’s play an important role in helping emerging companies develop the skills, networks and investment readiness needed to scale their solutions.

“We’re encouraged to see this cohort focused on the infrastructure and technologies needed to support a reliable, affordable and renewable energy future, and we’re pleased to support EnergyLab in accelerating their path to deployment.”

Meet the 2026 cohort

AGRA Farming Technologies builds and licenses indoor plant factories that can grow crops cheaper, more reliably and at higher quality than the field, while using the same facilities to provide flexible load and demand response services to the electricity grid.

Alt. Leather is developing a next-generation, plastic-free and animal-free leather alternative made from renewable feedstocks and agricultural waste. With 68% lower emissions than animal leather and zero petroleum-based plastics, Alt. Leather helps fashion, automotive and upholstery brands reduce environmental impact without compromising on performance or aesthetics.

Aspiring Materials has developed a patented, closed-loop process that converts abundant olivine into critical battery materials, low-carbon cement additives, magnesium hydroxide, and hydrogen, creating multiple revenue streams with zero waste.

CATCH Power makes home energy management hardware and software that coordinates household solar, batteries, EV charging and hot water in real time, with over 44,000 devices shipped across Australia. Through its Solar Analytics platform, CATCH Power is building the data and device layer needed to aggregate distributed energy assets into virtual power plants at scale.

DC3 Tech designs, integrates and commissions direct current microgrid systems for EV charging sites and data centres. DC3’s technology can be applied anywhere where large DC-native loads meet constrained grid supplies, to remove conversion losses and reduce the strain on the grid.

EVX is Australia’s only locally owned, completely vertically integrated public EV charging infrastructure provider. Focusing on integration with existing street furniture, EVX designs, manufactures, deploys, owns, and operates Australia’s fastest-growing kerbside charging network.

Loop Hydrometallurgy‘s patented Halion Loop technology offers a revolution in critical minerals processing: cheaper, cleaner, significantly more versatile, and with considerable reductions in mine-to-metal carbon footprint.

Magnefy uses non-invasive magnetic sensing and AI technology that detects developing faults in power transformers and inverters months before failure, helping utilities, renewable energy companies, and data centers improve reliability, reduce downtime, and extend asset life.

MetroElectro installs, owns and operates rooftop solar and battery systems on commercial and industrial buildings under long-term subscription agreements, removing the need for any upfront capital from the landlord or tenant.

OzAmmoniahas developed a platform electrolyser technology that converts industrial nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions — a major industrial pollutant — directly into ammonia as a useful by-product, at roughly half the cost of current abatement technologies.