Tasmania's Tech Boom: Clean Energy and AgTech Lead

Tasmania's technology and startup ecosystem is the smallest of Australia's major cities but has a distinctive character and genuine international credibility in specific sectors that reflect the island's extraordinary natural assets: clean technology (Tasmania generates almost 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, primarily hydro, and is developing as a renewable energy export hub), AgTech (the application of technology to Tasmania's extraordinary food and agricultural sector), and the emerging digital economy that the MONA effect and Tasmania's growing international tourism profile has generated. The UTAS commercialisation programs and the Gig City initiative (Tasmania's citywide gigabit internet network, one of the fastest city internet networks in Australia) provide important infrastructure for Tasmania's technology sector.

Gig City and Digital Infrastructure, the Gig City initiative (which has brought gigabit-speed internet to Hobart's CBD and the surrounding areas) is a significant competitive advantage for Tasmania's digital economy: the extraordinary combination of world-class digital connectivity, low commercial property costs (Hobart office space is a fraction of the cost of Sydney or Melbourne), and the lifestyle attractions of living in one of Australia's most beautiful small cities has attracted a growing number of digital workers, remote technology employees, and digital-first startups to relocate to Hobart and work from Tasmania.

Clean Energy and CleanTech, Tasmania's potential as a renewable energy export hub (the Project Battery of the Nation initiative, which aims to expand Tasmania's hydro capacity and export renewable electricity via an expanded Basslink interconnector to mainland Australia) creates significant opportunities for CleanTech companies developing grid management, energy storage, and renewable energy optimisation technology. The University of Tasmania's renewable energy research programs and the Aurora Energy innovation partnerships are building Tasmania's CleanTech credentials.

UTAS Commercialisation and Startups, the UTAS commercialisation office and the iQ (Innovation Quarter) co-working and startup space at the UTAS Hobart campus provide the primary support infrastructure for Tasmania's startup community. Several UTAS research spinouts in marine science, materials technology, and the agricultural sciences have been successfully commercialised and are growing into viable export-facing businesses.

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