We wish to lengthen our congratulations to this yr’s APAC Cleantech 25 awardees. In recent times, we’ve lined intimately the meteoric rise of the APAC area inside the international cleantech innovation panorama.
This yr’s APAC Cleantech 25 presents a glimpse into the following technology of innovation to emerge from the area, whereas the key sources of development – primarily Chinese language photo voltaic and vitality storage – have just lately reached industrial maturity.
The headline funding numbers inform two tales: One across the pace with which Chinese language photo voltaic and storage firms had been capable of speed up via, and out of, the fairness financing continuum to scale, and one other in regards to the pace with which the area (China and past) is laying the groundwork for an electrified economic system at scale.
Look to the examples of innovation in electrical mobility infrastructure on this yr’s APAC Cleantech 25 as a sign of the area’s skill to shortly undertake modern know-how within the mainstream.
APAC’s EV innovation has constantly been centered in China, however we’re now observing growth past simply on-road automobiles.
The electrification wave is sweeping via heavy-duty business vans and off-road industrial automobiles. Moreover, charging infrastructure and battery swapping options are reaching mass scale, facilitating simpler EV adoption and minimizing growth dangers for electrical heavy-duty and industrial automobiles.
For the APAC area, 2024 marked the strongest yr but in electrical vertical take-off and touchdown (EVTol) and unmanned aerial car (UAV) investments – with China’s “low-altitude economic system” initiatives highlighting this emphasis.
Electrical mobility infrastructure innovation extends past China as properly, as demonstrated by these examples from this yr’s APAC 25:
- Battery Good (India): Since its 2019 launch, has developed into India’s largest battery swapping community for two- and three-wheel automobiles
- Kwetta (New Zealand): Gives modular EV, fleet, and bus charging depots with out requiring grid upgrades
Whereas most Vitality & Energy innovation sectors skilled fundraising declines over the previous two years, fusion stands as a notable exception. At Cleantech Group, we’ve noticed that this know-how, typically considered as the long run’s beacon, had a breakthrough yr in 2024, that includes extra geographic range in fundraising and extra selection in reactor sorts.
Undoubtedly, a part of this shift stems from buyers turning into extra acquainted with fusion milestones and rising snug with the financing necessities wanted to fund firms via their subsequent milestones. This differs from earlier years when firms acquired funding for smaller milestones, leading to down rounds and better capital prices.
Maybe extra important, nevertheless, is the milestone progress being noticed throughout completely different reactor sorts. A number of examples from the APAC 25 embrace:
- Startorus Fusion (China): This spherical tokomak firm, launched from Tsinghua College, reported being first worldwide to realize an optimized spherical tokamak plasma configuration in 2024
- Openstar Applied sciences (New Zealand): Their levitated dipole reactor achieved first plasma in November 2024
- Kyoto Fusioneering (Japan) (2024 APAC Cleantech 25 firm): Although not a reactor firm, they develop elements and supply fusion plant design and engineering for numerous reactor sorts (magnetized goal, magnetic confinement, inertial confinement), with a number of testing amenities deliberate
Once we initially mapped AI-for-cleantech firms, we seen a shocking lack of APAC innovators. Our speculation was that many merely weren’t but in a stage of market-facing publicity. This was partially confirmed by Deepseek’s bulletins in late January 2025.
Whereas industrial effectivity has improved considerably throughout a lot of APAC, even nations making the best strides (China, Vietnam, India) stay removed from maximizing output per hour labored. Mixed with a tightening international economic system and rising overcapacity challenges in China, we anticipate course of and useful resource effectivity to grow to be prime priorities for APAC firms. AI offers momentum for corporations already on this enchancment trajectory.
The rising APAC AI-for-cleantech ecosystem is addressing extremely localized issues whereas extending past conventional cleantech energy areas. This yr’s APAC Cleantech 25 consists of instructive circumstances of localized fashions with international market potential:
- Cosmos Innovation (Hong Kong SAR): Leverages their inside AI (Mobius) for supplies discovery and course of optimization in perovkskite/tandem photo voltaic cells manufacturing, enhancing photo voltaic cell efficiency whereas controlling R&D prices
- Ecolibrium (India): Supplies an industrial effectivity AI platform aimed toward lowering course of waste and operational prices in high-volume, low-margin industries like commodity manufacturing and mining, whereas additionally working to optimize high-load websites resembling information facilities
Outdoors China, most APAC areas can’t deploy renewables on the similar tempo as AI growth (and its supporting infrastructure). Consequently, Asia-Pacific is quickly turning into aggressive floor for applied sciences lowering information middle vitality consumption.
APAC innovators have alternatives throughout the spectrum—from energy-efficient AI-supporting chips and semiconductors, to deep cooling of compute operations and extra environment friendly IT tools (as seen in Singapore’s Inexperienced Knowledge Middle Roadmap). Latest funding tendencies clearly point out this chance is being acknowledged.
This yr’s APAC 25 options firms addressing these pressing wants:
- Firmus Applied sciences (Singapore): Gives liquid-cooled information facilities (each retrofits and new builds) and low-carbon internet hosting options with their Sustainable Metallic Cloud service
- Amperesand (Singapore): Develops solid-state transformers that present extra granular energy circulate management throughout excessive electrical energy load websites, with modular and scalable designs providing further resilience via fault isolation capabilities
For years, essential supplies innovation has centered on two hypotheses:
1) Demand for battery, electrical motor, and energy electronics supplies will exceed provide in coming a long time, and
2) China’s provide focus would require different nations to extend onshore provide
The second speculation is accelerating as international commerce tensions rise and beforehand dependable provide relationships face fracture dangers. The subsequent 5 years will definitely see elevated demand-side insecurity round these challenges.
Addressing each challenges requires improved mining effectivity and precision, new refining methods, and supplies restoration from waste. This yr’s APAC 25 showcases the total worth chain with numerous geographic illustration:
- Fleet Area (Australia): Supplies satellite-based essential mineral detection
- Component Zero (Australia): Gives non-aqueous electrochemical processing of ores (iron, nickel, silica) into excessive worth supplies
- 3DC (Japan): Produces three-dimensional graphene materials sponge relevant in present lithium-ion batteries and future chemistries (e.g., strong state)
- Poen (Korea): Makes a speciality of spent and broken battery evaluation, remanufacturing, and re-purposing
- Lohum (India): Focuses on battery recycling and restoration of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite via a hydrometallurgical course of
As of time of writing, the quick acceleration of worldwide commerce fractures is making the potential of “regional know-how spheres” much more seemingly. Particularly provided that so a lot of this yr’s APAC Cleantech 25 are innovating in applied sciences essential to the following a long time of sustainable trade, we anticipate to see the tendencies named above intensify even additional.
We as soon as once more congratulate all of this yr’s APAC Cleantech 25 award recipients!
