Bendigo Green Tech Startups Attract Record Investment Funding

Bendigo startups focused on green technology raised $142 million in the first half of 2026 alone, according to data compiled by the Bendigo Innovation Network, a sum that already surpasses the total for all of 2025 by 18 percent.

The surge mirrors a global trend that gathered pace after last year's COP31 summit in Melbourne, when institutional investors began reallocating portfolios toward climate-positive assets. But local venture partners say Bendigo's particular mix of manufacturing heritage and water-stress urgency has made it a magnet for early-stage climate tech.

From Mitchell Street to the world

Two blocks of Mitchell Street, between Chancery Lane and Hargreaves Street, now host six dedicated green-tech startups inside the renovated Bendigo Sustainability Hub. Among them is AquaRefract, a company developing ceramic filtration membranes that reduce industrial water use by 60 percent. The company closed a $4.2 million seed round in March led by the Bendigo Clean Energy Fund.

Across town, the former locomotive workshops at North Bendigo Railway Station have been converted into a 12,000-square-metre prototyping facility run by the Bendigo Manufacturing Growth Centre. The centre announced on Tuesday a partnership with RMIT's School of Engineering to test new low‑carbon concrete mixtures using recycled glass fines from the Eaglehawk Resource Recovery Centre.

Deal value climbs, ticket sizes grow

Data published last week by the Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association shows that green‑tech investments statewide hit $1.8 billion in the nine months to June 2026, up from $1.1 billion in the same period a year earlier. Series A rounds in Bendigo have grown from an average of $1.5 million in 2024 to $3.2 million this year, according to PitchBook local filings.

The Bendigo City Council, which launched its own Climate Action Investment Strategy in February 2026, has allocated $8 million in co‑investment matching funds. Council chief executive Andrew Pedersen told councillors in a closed‑session memo last month that the strategy had already attracted $27 million in private co‑investment commitments, roughly 3.4 times the initial public outlay. The memo was later obtained by The Daily Bendigo under freedom of information.

Not all signals are rosy. Three local green‑tech startups folded in the first quarter after failing to secure follow‑on funding, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission recorded a 12 percent rise in voluntary administrator appointments among early‑stage climate companies nationally. But the Bendigo cohort remains comparatively stable, with only one closure reported.

Greg Tanner, a partner at Bendigo‑based venture firm Golden Wattle Capital, told a June panel at the Bendigo Town Hall that the biggest shift has been the arrival of superannuation funds. “Five years ago we were pitching to family offices and high‑net‑worth individuals,” he said. “Now we’re in data rooms with industry super funds that have explicit net‑zero mandates.”

The Bendigo chapter of the Clean Energy Council is scheduled to host a two‑day matching event at the Ulumbarra Theatre from August 12, where 22 local startups will present to a group of 45 pre‑registered investors from Melbourne, Sydney, and Singapore. Organisers expect total deal flow to exceed $50 million.

For founders still polishing their pitch decks, the Bendigo Business Hub on Mollison Street offers a free weekly green‑tech mentoring session every Thursday at 4 p.m. Walk‑ins are welcome.