Lessons from the Vietnam climate tech ecosystem

Vietnam: An Emerging Climate Innovation Powerhouse

My recent visit to Vietnam as a guest speaker revealed an ecosystem primed for significant climate innovation and ESG investment opportunities. I'm convinced Vietnam will play a pivotal role in the global transition to sustainable technologies.

What struck me most was the exceptional quality and interconnectedness of Vietnam's innovation ecosystem. Unlike many markets where stakeholders operate in silos, Vietnam has fostered collaboration between government, private sector, and international partners. This cohesive approach creates an environment where climate solutions can scale rapidly and effectively.

Vietnam's agricultural sector faces significant climate pressures, driving demand for resilient farming technologies, precision agriculture solutions, and sustainable supply chain innovations. The companies I met are developing practical solutions for smallholder farmers while building scalable business models that could be replicated across Southeast Asia. We saw a pitch from Halophilic who introduced me to samphire — a vegetable that can grow on top of prawn/shrimp farms. I think it’s the new kale!

Perhaps most encouraging was the government's strategic approach to climate transition. Rather than simply adopting Western technologies, Vietnam is building indigenous capabilities while remaining open to international partnerships. This balanced approach suggests sustainable long-term growth rather than dependency-driven development.

For ESG investors, Vietnam offers a rare combination: a dynamic economy actively seeking sustainable solutions, manufacturing capabilities to scale climate technologies cost-effectively, and a collaborative ecosystem that can execute complex projects. The country isn't just participating in the climate transition – it's positioning itself as a critical enabler of global decarbonisation efforts.

I want to thank Trish, Dieu, and the team from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for inviting me and for letting me bring along Kate from Ox Capital and Ben from Investible. Another huge thanks to Van Ly and Mimi Vu for putting on such an incredible conference and making us feel so welcomed.

- Mick (CEO, Climate Salad)

News

Deakin University have partnered with Country Road to convert low-grade Merino wool into high-grade yarn in their ‘Mud to Marle’ project. Currently Australia lacks the infrastructure to process their own wool, so this project was a a test to see how viable onshore processing is.

On why UK universities are better at research commercialization than Australia by Andrew Loh (ex-Ecotone Ventures)

Jessica Mével (Circular Solutions Lead and founder of Circular Economy Club Sydney — check them out!) wrote her reflections for a recent TedX Sydney event, ‘Three Horizons’.

On what goes into restarting nuclear reactors at the world’s largest nuclear facility in Japan, following the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

Solar company 5B is the first to receive funding under the Australia Government’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot program.

LNG remains a key energy source amongst the energy transition, especially in countries like Japan. Its environment impact compared to coal is still debated, with some sources finding it to be relatively worse when taking into account the extraction and transport involved.

The NSW government released its Trade and Investment Strategy for the next 10 years. Key aims include working towards driving international investment and making it easier for NSW exporters to access overseas markets.

Events

Jun 13th, VIC | Entrepreneurialism in Agrifood Tech Bendigo by Farmers2Founders

Jun 16th - 27th , QLD | Tropical Innovation Festival 2025

Jun 17th, SYD | Climate Crew Get-Together

Jun 19th, SYD | Climate Changers Meet-up ft. Kate Raworth (author of Doughnut Economics)

Jun 19th, MEL | Policy Hive: Climate Policy in Australia - Where to From Here? ft. Gavan McFadzean (Australian Conservation Foundation)

Jun 24th, MEL | Phase Change - Melbourne Energy Industry Meetup ft. Nick Wonzinski (Amber Electric)

Jun 28th , SYD | Voice Your Future Workshop: Write to your MP to on Climate Action by Climate Writers

Jul 29th - 30th , SYD | Australian Clean Energy Summit

Sep 21st - 28th , NYC | Climate Week NYC

Programs

Fancy a trip to France? The 2025 France Energy Transition & Innovation Tour (FACET) is sponsoring 5 return flights for Australian start-ups for their program. The program is for start-ups in the clean energy sector to meet key policy-makers and industry leaders.

Cicada Innovations is looking for researchers, innovators, and early-stage founders in NSW who are working on cutting-edge solutions — from seed treatments and soil health to sensing tech and supply chain tools. This is a hands-on, expert-led program (2-day in-person workshop) that will give you the commercial tools, industry insights, and connections you need to turn your idea into a real business opportunity.

By the end of the program, you'll be equipped to:

• Navigate the complex grains industry value chain with confidence
• Craft and communicate your unique value proposition
• Establish meaningful connections with farmers and growers
• Prepare compelling grant applications and strategic plans
• Forge partnerships and attract potential investors

Cicada Innovations is looking for startups and founders who are:

• Passionate about solving agricultural challenges
• Developing deep tech solutions applicable to the industry
• Ready to scale their innovations and make a real-world impact

Applications for the upcoming workshop are closed, but you can submit an EOI for following workshops via their website.

Energy Lab’s Climate Tech Charge Program is for early-stage climate tech founders with a validated idea looking to gain traction and find their first customers.

Sign up for their information session below on the 18th of June.

Profile: Nicolette Maury (CEO, Avani Solutions)

For the first in our member profile series we’re speaking to Nicolette Maury, CEO of Avani Solutions. She has a background in technology solutions, joining Ebay in 2006 before heading Intuit Australia as Managing Director. She also currently serves as a non-executive director on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

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What problem is Avani solving?

The high level problem we’re solving is that buildings operate highly inefficiently, and we know that commercial real estate accounts for about 40% of carbon emissions.

The Avani solution reduces the cost and the carbon emissions of operating building portfolios, whether it's from owners like Brookfield Properties or occupiers like Aldi Supermarkets. We do all that through connecting directly to all of the systems inside of buildings, extracting all of the relevant data, and turning them into insights we action back into the building. So basically we help the building adapt in real time to the environment around it, to the stability or the greenness of the grid, to the temperature, [and] to the preference of its occupants.

To give a climate focused example, we work with Aldi supermarkets to take in signals of the level of renewables in the grid, and when the renewables are high we ask the fridges and freezers to super cool themselves to the bottom of their range. And then when the renewables low, we can let it coast so that they're using far less energy at those times of day. So basically enabling the building to react in real time to perform better.

What climate-specific challenges do you face?

I think many climate tech companies have had this issue of a mindset around: how do I demonstrate value but also bring people on this journey of, ‘Hey, doing the right thing by the climate is financially important and socially important at the same time.’ Probably part of the challenge is an uncertainty — particularly for climate tech companies —  around legislation compliance: ‘What is going to happen not just in Australia but around the world?’ I know some companies that are active in the US obviously got lots of challenges with some of the recent changes. But even here, when you think about in our case, one of the main resources that we look at is energy.

And so with the unpredictability of the energy grid — in a way that’s part of what our product solves — we know that to electrify more buildings, we need more grid infrastructure, and we’re a long way from that.

Read the full interview

(Members Only) WEBINAR: Running Your Own Syndicate: How to Raise Additional Capital on Aussie Angels

WHEN: June 10, 2025 | 12:00 PM - 1:00PM (Sydney Time)

Presented by Cheryl Mack, CEO of Aussie Angels

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This session is designed for founders looking to expand their funding options and gain insights from experts in the field.

Raising capital as a founder can be challenging, but what if you could take control of the process? Join us for an exclusive webinar on running your own investment syndicate through Aussie Angels. Learn how to leverage this model to attract strategic investors and secure funding for your startup.

What you’ll learn:

• How to establish and manage your own syndicate
• The advantages of syndicates over traditional fundraising methods
• Key steps to attract investors and close successful deals
• Real-world examples of founder-led syndicates in action

This webinar is only available to Climate Salad Members. Interested in joining? Sign up below!

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OPTION 1: MEMBER ($125/year)

• Access to Slack Community of Australia's leading climate tech community of co-founders, team members, mentors, advocates and investors.
• Exclusive member access and discounts to events, workshops and programs
• Access to >$150k in partnership perks
• Add yourself and your company to the directories of climate tech companies, investors or ecosystem supporters and mentors.
• Post on the jobs board

OPTION 2: INSIGHTS ($280/year)

Everything in Member, plus:

• Advanced company search with custom filtering
• Annual reports and interactive charts
• Detailed company profiles including investment and funding data
• Weekly email updates featuring new and updated companies

Keen? Join online!

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