The themes contained within Cicada x Tech23 are a reflection of Australia’s deep tech pipeline, its trends and its outlook. Many Australian deep tech founders possess the ingenuity to disrupt traditional industries, thus diversifying the economy, improving quality of life and enhancing sovereign capability.
Today, we examine the Cicada x Tech23 theme, The Built World, Upgraded. Our cities create waste, consume energy and labour under pressure. It is imperative that we build or retrofit smarter, more resilient places to live and work.
There are a number of Australian deep tech ventures doing just that, but before that, a little more on the theme!
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The world's temperatures and population are rising, of that there is no question. The strain on our power grids and other existing infrastructure has the ability to significantly affect our quality of life and change the way we live.
According to the World Economic Forum, at least 80% of the buildings and infrastructure that exists today will be standing in 2050. While new and yet-to-be-constructed facilities comprise the efficiency standards expected of new builds, those lacking those services will likely need to form part of an unprecedented retrofitting project to upgrade the systems required to power and connect a building for 2050 and beyond.
The ventures that sit underneath The Built World, Upgraded's umbrella hold patents for key technologies able to be applied at scale both on new builds and retrofit projects. They harness the potential to power our cities, unite previously isolated infrastructure and create comfortable environments for all in the face of rising temperatures and population spikes.
Corellian has re-engineered cooling to harvest heat like snake venom is used to make anti-venom. Its compressor-less, heat-driven cooling system – AirSolaris – uses the very same heat that warms a building to drive cooling and dehumidification, reducing the operational footprint of a building – the likes of data centres and commercial properties – by up to 95%.
70% of critical building infrastructure is offline, because it is digitally invisible. ParkingSpotz lays digital infrastructure in basements to turn offline spaces into value, with its wireless system acting as a backbone that connects underground devices, turning dormant underground spaces into intelligent, controllable assets.
Sydsol has developed an ultra-thin ‘peel-and-stick’ solar technology that can be applied to windows and building facades without the need for extra land or rooftop space, turning cities into decentralised green power plants and clearing the AI energy bottleneck.
Thermal Dawn utilises thermal batteries to heat and cool homes at the fraction of the cost of a lithium battery, and can be installed via plumbers and HVAC specialists allowing it to scale to millions of households electrifying off gas. Cheap daytime solar charges the battery, with the stored heating and cooling released throughout the evening – slashing electricity bills and the household’s carbon footprint without changing how the home feels.
Cicada x Tech23 offers a glimpse into the future being created by Australian innovators.
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