Last week, founders, mentors, and supporters gathered at UNSW Michael Crouch Innovation Centre to celebrate the wrap of the latest Pre-Accelerator (PreX) cohort — a free, four-week program run by UNSW Founders designed to equip early-stage startups with the tools, networks, and confidence to turn big ideas into market-ready ventures. 

Among the broader cohort, a dedicated climate stream supported by TRaCE, brought together 15 startups working at the frontier of sustainability, clean energy, circular economy, and environmental technology.  

Over four weeks of workshops, coaching sessions, and peer learning, these founders sharpened their customer discovery, stress-tested their business models, and built lasting connections within Australia’s growing climate-tech ecosystem. 

Meet the 2026 Climate Cohort

  • Sydsol is developing ultra-thin, see-through solar films that retrofit onto existing windows, turning any building into a clean energy generator with no rooftop required.

 

  • Watergate Labs has built a modular generator that chemically converts water into electricity, delivering reliable 24/7 renewable energy in any weather.

 

  • ALBON uses algae to clean wastewater, capture carbon, and produce biochar to help cut emissions while building circularity into water treatment infrastructure.

 

  • ESRA is building end-of-life recycling infrastructure for solar panels, ensuring Australia’s clean energy boom does not create the next e-waste crisis.

 

  • SheRecycles is a women-led initiative building a digital platform that connects communities, councils, and recyclers to strengthen end-of-life circular infrastructure for clean technology.

 

  • Terra Nova is a carbon and cost budgeting app that helps consumers and businesses find sustainable choices that also save money.

 

  • Ragpiq is making sustainable fashion more accessible, helping consumers and businesses navigate secondhand shopping more more efficiently and supporting a more circular economy.

 

  • RegenX is building an investment platform that opens up verified solar and battery projects to a broader range of investors, with transparent investment structures and clear liquidity pathways.

 

  • Opal Nexus aims to co-locate data centres with off-grid renewable energy in regional areas, bypassing grid delays to simultaneously accelerate AI computing and clean energy deployment.

 

  • Kelp Goose provides real-time underwater sensor data for kelp restoration projects, giving conservation groups reliable, automated monitoring where manual data collection has fallen short. 

Two of the startups in the climate cohort, Sydsol and Watergate Labs, won first and second place respectively during the evening’s rapid pitch competition. 

Pre X is designed as a stepping stone to the more intensive Climate 10x Accelerator, a ten-week program offering 1:1 coaching, commercialisation support, and access to TRaCE’s full support ecosystem, including Research and Development vouchers, the Technology Translation Squad, and eligibility for the TRaCE Early-stage Seed Fund backed by Investible and Hampton Capital. 

We look forward to following their journeys as they continue to develop their technologies, drive climate impact, and contribute to Australia’s transition to a clean, circular economy.