Glaciem was recently awarded $516,000 in Accelerating Commercialisation funding under the Australian Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme. They are a strong example of a successful grantee company, who leveraged the program focussed on growing Australian companies through translation of research and development (R&D) and innovation. As a Commercialisation Facilitator for the program, I was fortunate to be able to support and assist Glaciem throughout their grant application. The Accelerating Commercialisation program delivers extensive commercialisation support and advice in addition to funding support to applicants. Applications to the program are highly detailed and focused on presenting a strong business case backed by evidence. Glaciem’s success in the Accelerating Commercialisation grant was based on several key strengths, which I’d like to highlight here.
Glaciem Cooling Technologies Pty Ltd are providers of novel, highly efficient and sustainable heating and cooling solutions for the global Heating, Ventilation, AirConditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC-R) industry. The company’s new product is a patented CO2-based refrigeration system (DPCO2), which specifically addresses the need for energy efficient, non-toxic refrigeration systems using refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP). Here are the reasons why their company made a compelling case for Accelerating Commercialisation:
- Highly novel IP – the technology is protected by patents and trade secrets. The company has a strong relationship with the University of South Australia, which further supports their ability to maintain market-share through on-going innovation.
- The technology addresses a global problem – The product is potentially a game changer for CO2 based refrigeration, with significant impact on sustainability targets of potential customers and on the environment as a whole
- Strong channel to markets – resulting from existing large customer relationships and traction in global markets
- Strong management team – the team has a proven track record to be able to innovate and deliver on product development and manufacturing as well as continued innovation
- Strong value proposition – the products value proposition to all stakeholders including distributers and customers has been validated through trials with end-users
Glaciem’s application to the Accelerating Commercialisation program demonstrated a clear problem and novel solution fit for their DPCO2 product, in a global environment which is strongly focused on decarbonisation technologies. The grant will allow the company to leverage opportunities with large commercial partners, which will help to position the company quickly as a global market leader. Successful completion of the Australian Government funded project is therefore expected to have significant impact on the Australian economy and manufacturing sector.
