Cleantech Investor

$26bn Revenue and 45,000 Employees places Cleantech alongside Automotive and Manufacturing

John O’Brien, Australian CleanTech, February 2012

The Australian Cleantech sector is profiled to a greater extent than ever before in a report published by Australian CleanTech. The report provides an overview of the location, activities, revenue, employee numbers and funds raised by all of Australia’s leading cleantech companies.

The analysis of 1,160 Australian cleantech companies reviewed shows the leading sectors of activity and which regions are most active. As a sector, the companies had combined revenues of $26 billion and employed 45,000 people. They were involved in capital transactions totaling $2.9 billion during the 2011 calendar year in 119 separate capital transactions.

	Listed	Unlisted	TOTAL
Number of Companies	81	1079	1160
Market Capitalisation ($m)	$7,441m	N/a	N/a
Revenue ($m)	$13,493m	$12,084m*	$25,577m
Employees	16,426*	28,567*	44,993
Capital Transactions ($m)	$1,428m	$1,457m	$2,885m
No. of Capital Transactions	77	42	119

*: Australian CleanTech estimates based on company analysis.

First published in Cleantech magazine Issue 4 2011. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd.  

by John O'Brien, Australian CleanTech 

So far in 2011, Australia has had an exact rerun of the carbon pricing debate of 2008. Apparently a carbon price will cause mass job losses, the shutdown of key industries and regular power black-outs. There will also be carbon leakage and, with less than 2% of global emissions, we can’t make any real difference anyway. These arguments are of course not limited to Australia alone. 

The one difference from 2008, however, is that we now have a minority government that has had to do a deal with the Greens in order to stay in power. This situation, it appears, will push the deal over the line. 

First published in Cleantech magazine, October 2010. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd 2010

By John O’Brien, Australian CleanTech

After much discussion, Australia finally has a new national Government and there are positive signs with respect to the growth of cleantech and, in particular, utility scale renewable energy projects.

The new Labor Government did a deal with the Greens that will deliver the upper house and finally managed to win over two independents to control the lower house. The Liberal/National Coalition would have required all three of the independents to support it into office, but failed despite some good efforts at pork barrelling. Labor’s victory is undoubtedly a win for environmental investments.

First published in Cleantech magazine, May/June 2010.

John O’Brien, Australian CleanTech

In my work within the cleantech sector in Australia, I am often asked which sectors have the best chance of flourishing here. This question is often followed by another: which companies in those sectors are the ones developing global technologies? It can be a dangerous game to give direct answers to these questions, as the only certainty about predictions is that they will be wrong!  

The wave sector is more difficult to predict than some sectors. The relatively immature nature of most of the technologies means that it is likely to be some time before positive cash flows are strong and it starts to become clear which of the many development technologies may dominate global installations. Who will be the Vestas and Suzlon of the seas and estuaries? What does seem likely is that, over the next five years, only a handful of technologies will move ahead of the pack and start to be seen as the industry leaders. Will any of those technologies be Australian?