"Twenty-Three Promising Deep Tech Startups in Australia to Keep an Eye on by 2025" or "A Glimpse at the 23 Top Deep Tech Startups from Australia Looking Forward to 2025"
Australia's Deep Tech Startups Shine in Global Innovation
Australia's deep tech sector is flourishing, with a new generation of ventures making waves in biology, resources, and the built environment. These startups were showcased in the Cicada x Tech23 2025 event, highlighting Australia's leading deep tech firms poised for global impact and commercial success.
Cicada Innovations, a major incubator founded by top Australian universities, plays a pivotal role in nurturing these startups. With a mission to solve complex global challenges by integrating business, engineering, and science, Cicada Innovations acts as a deep tech "factory".
Some of the standout startups include:
- Kardinia Energy: Kardinia Energy's printed solar is a game-changer, offering a lightweight, flexible, and recyclable solution for delivering clean energy anywhere. The technology is printed roll-to-roll for rapid, low-cost deployment.
- Membrane Transporter Engineers (MTE): MTE, recognised by Cicada Innovations as one of their most exciting startups this year, is developing nature-inspired membrane technologies to recover high-value materials like lithium, cobalt, and phosphorus from industrial wastewater.
- BioCarbon: BioCarbon's patented process turns wet, unprocessed wood into GreenChar, a high-grade carbon product that powers electric furnaces for steelmaking, requiring no external energy.
- One Kidney: One Kidney is developing a fully implantable artificial kidney to restore natural function, with no machines or donor waitlists.
- COOL ENGINEERING: COOL ENGINEERING's compact, modular "COOL plant" captures carbon dioxide from the air and industrial sources, and converts it into drop-in hydrocarbon fuels, requiring no fossil inputs or high pressure.
Other notable startups include ConryTech, Liora Neurotech, Powered by NOA, X-Centric Sciences, Facet Amtech, Terria, and Burl Aerospace. However, the exact list of all 23 startups is not publicly available at this time.
The innovation in these startups is not limited to biotech and sustainability. They also span sectors such as quantum technology, medtech, and manufacturing. The potential impact of these startups could have significant implications for the clean energy transition, achieving a circular economy, and harvesting high-value resources from industrial wastes.
Sally-Anne Williams, the CEO of Cicada Innovations, emphasizes the need for strategic procurement to scale deep tech in Australia. With Cicada Innovations having incubated over 400 startups and helped raise more than $6 billion for them, the future of deep tech in Australia looks promising.
References:
[1] Cicada Innovations. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from https://cicadainnovations.com/about/
[2] Tech23. (2025, October 1). Cicada x Tech23 2025: Australia's Leading Deep Tech Startups. Retrieved from https://tech23.org.au/cicada-x-tech23-2025/
[3] Tech23. (2025, October 1). Tech23 2025: Australia's Deep Tech Startups. Retrieved from https://tech23.org.au/tech23-2025/
In Australia's burgeoning deep tech sector, entrepreneurship is thriving as startups like Kardinia Energy innovate in the field of technology to offer sustainable energy solutions through their lightweight, flexible, and recyclable printed solar panels. Meanwhile, in finance and business, Membrane Transporter Engineers (MTE) is embracing science by developing nature-inspired membrane technologies to recover high-value resources from industrial wastewater. These startups, along with others such as One Kidney, COOL ENGINEERING, and several unlisted companies, are shaping the future of Australia's deep tech industry, with the potential to impact various sectors, including clean energy, resource recovery, and manufacturing, thereby contributing to achieving a circular economy and facilitating the global transition towards sustainability.
