Startup · $8.9m raised · Agriculture and food · Energy
Biomass to hydrogen technology for producing fertilisers and fuels
Sydney, NSW
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Hydgene raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Agronomics | Seed | $2,500,000 |
| Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) | Grant | - |
| Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII) | Grant | - |
| Clean Energy Finance Corporation | Seed | $2,000,000 |
| Clean Energy Innovation Fund | Seed | $2,000,000 |
| Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) | Grant | - |
| GRDC | Grant | - |
| Greentown Labs | Accelerator | - |
| NOAB Ventures | Seed | - |
| NSW Government | Accelerator · Grant | - |
| Understorey Ventures | Seed | - |
| Virescent Ventures | Seed | - |
Companies Hydgene acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Kerstin Petroll | Chief Technical Officer | Startup Daily, SmartCompany, HydGene Renewables team page |
| Dr Louise Brown | CEO · Founder | hydgene.com, Startup Daily, @AuManufacturing, RenewEconomy, SmartCompany |
| Professor Robert Willows | Chief Scientific Officer | Startup Daily, SmartCompany, HydGene Renewables team page |
Stories naming Hydgene. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Australian climate tech company HydGene Renewables was chosen among five companies worldwide for Greentown Labs' Go Make 2026 initiative with Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies, targeting industrial decarbonisation and low-carbon hydrogen.
NSW's government is lending startups money to commercialise research via a new repayable fund, and names biotech and RNA grant recipients while reopening a ventures grants round.
NSW has launched a $20m fund to help startups commercialise emerging tech and named All G, HydGene Renewables, Number 8 Bio and Swan Genomics as recipients of Biosciences Fund grants.
Also Startup Daily
Artesian's write-up of its first Yield summit in Melbourne, where agrifood leaders discussed AI, biologicals, robotics, agri-energy and biosecurity, and how RDCs, investors and corporates can together speed Australian agricultural innovation.
Virescent Ventures' blog announces its seed backing of HydGene Renewables, an Australian startup whose biocatalyst process converts biomass and organic waste into green hydrogen, linking to the fuller announcement.
Also SmartCompany·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily
Weekly roundup of six Australian startup raises: Lyka's Series B extension, plus new funding for HydGene, JDoodle, One Future Football, Aquila and Number 8 Bio, with investors and founder comment.
Also RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Two rural research corporations ran federal-backed innovation challenges, awarding grants totalling nearly $5 million, with four agricultural technology companies advancing to million-dollar proof-of-concept funding.
Nineteen listed companies received federal BRII feasibility-study grants totalling $2.27 million across five government agency challenge themes, including turning farm crops into renewable hydrogen.