The Times Australia
Fisher and Paykel Appliances
Small Business News

.

Revolutionary Australian Clean Energy Startup Wins Global Award

  • Written by Media Release

Planet Ark Power's electricity grid-transforming solution wins at Startup Energy Transition Awards Berlin

Brisbane-based startup Planet Ark Power has been recognised as the leading global energy transition pioneer by winning at the Startup Energy Transition (SET) Awards 2019.

The awards, a part of the 5th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, were held on 9 April, 2019 by the German Energy Agency (dena) in cooperation with the World Energy Council.

Planet Ark Power won the category of ‘Intelligent Grids, Platforms and Cyber Security’. Their pitch on their innovative grid-transforming solution received the unanimous support from the jury of global energy and climate change experts.

“This is a milestone for Planet Ark Power. To be recognised as pioneers and have the global energy transition community validate our solution at the SET Awards inspires us to continue innovating and contributing to this dialogue,” Richard Romanowski, Executive Director, Planet Ark Power.

Planet Ark Power has been committed to overcoming the barriers Australia is facing in transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources.

Their power management technologies, which utilise artificial intelligence, solve the voltage disruption issues that new, de-centralised energy generation sources like rooftop solar cause to the electricity grid.

Planet Ark Power’s solution enables thirteen times more clean energy to flow onto the electricity grid and comes at no cost to the grid or end-consumer.

This paves the way for large-scale adoption of solar in the commercial and industrial context, enabling the creation of virtual power plants and facilitating future peer-to-peer trading – democratising the electricity grid overall.

The grid-transforming device was conceptualised by Planet Ark Power’s team of multidisciplinary engineers who specialise in network and transformer design, computer intelligence, microgrid distribution design, data simulation, and more.

“Australia is the first in the world to experience large-scale voltage disruption due to rooftop solar, with the rest of the world to follow as rooftop solar becomes more popular. Planet Ark Power’s engineers had the foresight and acumen to pre-empt and solve a global challenge,” said Romanowski.

As winners from 15 finalists, Planet Ark Power takes home €10,000.00 (c. $AU16,000) which will be a welcome addition to the startup’s research and development initiatives, as they look to expand both their technology as well as their business. Within the next few years, they hope to be a publicly listed enterprise and will start building a pool of investors throughout 2019.

Planet Ark Power will join a panel discussion at the 5th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD) on April 10th, 2019 sharing the stage with other SET Award 2019 category winners to discuss how to accelerate a global transition to clean energy.

In September 2019, Planet Ark Power will exhibit their game-changing technology alongside other innovators committed to a clean energy future at the 24th World Energy Congress hosted by the World Energy Council in Abu Dhabi as a #SET100 Startup.

Planet Ark Power™ is a leading Australian-owned technology and artificial intelligence company designing and delivering innovative clean energy solutions which radically improve returns on investment (ROI) for rooftop solar and battery in commercial and institutional sectors, helping organisations transition into a sustainable future.

Planet Ark™, one of Australia’s leading environmental organisations, partnered with GoZERO Energy to become Planet Ark Power™ in 2017.

Planet Ark

Planet Ark Environmental Foundation is an Australian not-for-profit organisation with a vision of a world where people live in balance with nature. Established in 1992, we are one of Australia’s leading environmental behaviour change organisations with a focus on working collaboratively and positively. We help people, governments and businesses reduce their impact on the environment in three key areas: sustainable resource use; low carbon lifestyles; and connecting people with nature.

 


Planet Ark Power’s Executive Director Richard Romanowski pitching to the global energy transition forum at Startup Energy Transition Awards 2019

Property Times

Understanding Kerbside Valuation: A Practical Guide for Property Owners

When it comes to property transactions, not every situation requires a full, detailed valuation. In many cases, lenders, investors, or homeowners simply need a quick, efficient assessment of a property’s approximate market value. This is where a ke...

Why the Prevailing RBA Mortgage Interest Rates Are Not to Blame for the Continuing Rise in Residential Dwelling Prices

Australia’s housing market remains one of the most debated economic issues of the decade. Despite successive Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate hikes aimed at cooling demand, residential dwelling prices across most capital cities and man...

How Real Estate Agent Commissions Work in Australian States and Territories

When buying or selling property in Australia, one of the biggest costs—beyond the property price itself—comes from real estate agent commissions. These commissions are the fees agents charge for marketing, negotiating, and finalising the sale of ...

Understanding Centrelink Investment Property Valuation: A Guide for Australian Property Owners

Introduction Owning an investment property in Australia can bring financial stability — but it also comes with responsibilities, especially when it comes to Centrelink assessments. Whether you’re applying for age pensions, disability benefits, or ...

Food & Dining

How healthy are the hundreds of confectionery options and soft drinks

Walk into any big Australian supermarket and the first thing that hits you isn’t the smell of fresh bread or the neatly stacked veggies – it’s walls of chocolate bars, lolly bags, energy drinks and two-litre bottles of cola staring you down from ...

Menulog is closing in Australia. Could food delivery soon cost more?

It’s been a rocky road for Australia’s food delivery sector. Over the past decade, major platforms and a smattering of daring, minor players have been jostling for market share. That’s brought rapid change – and also seen several high-profile bus...

Restaurants to visit in St Kilda and South Yarra

Here are six highly-recommended restaurants split between the seaside suburb of St Kilda and the stylish inner-east locale of South Yarra, Melbourne — perfect if you’re planning a food-lovers outing. I’ve included details about what makes each sp...

How early is too early’ for Hot Cross Buns to hit supermarket and bakery shelves

Every year, Australians find themselves in the middle of the nation’s most delicious dilemmas - when is too early for hot cross buns? As soon as the first packs appear in supermarket aisles on Boxing Day, the country divides into two camps: the d...

Business Times

Partnership repaints approach to tradie mental health crisis

Haymes Paint Shop has supercharged its commitment to blue-collar counselling service TIACS to encourage Aussie tradies to ‘...

YepAI Emerges as AI Dark Horse, Launches V3 SuperAgent to Revolut…

November 24, 2025 – YepAI today announced the launch of its V3 SuperAgent, an enhanced AI platform designed to streamlin...

What SMEs Should Look For When Choosing a Shared Office in 2026

Small and medium-sized enterprises remain the backbone of Australia’s economy. As of mid-2024, small businesses accounted f...

The Times Features

The rise of chatbot therapists: Why AI cannot replace human care

Some are dubbing AI as the fourth industrial revolution, with the sweeping changes it is propellin...

Australians Can Now Experience The World of Wicked Across Universal Studios Singapore and Resorts World Sentosa

This holiday season, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), in partnership with Universal Pictures, Sentosa ...

Mineral vs chemical sunscreens? Science shows the difference is smaller than you think

“Mineral-only” sunscreens are making huge inroads[1] into the sunscreen market, driven by fears of “...

Here’s what new debt-to-income home loan caps mean for banks and borrowers

For the first time ever, the Australian banking regulator has announced it will impose new debt-...

Why the Mortgage Industry Needs More Women (And What We're Actually Doing About It)

I've been in fintech and the mortgage industry for about a year and a half now. My background is i...

Inflation jumps in October, adding to pressure on government to make budget savings

Annual inflation rose[1] to a 16-month high of 3.8% in October, adding to pressure on the govern...

Transforming Addiction Treatment Marketing Across Australasia & Southeast Asia

In a competitive and highly regulated space like addiction treatment, standing out online is no sm...

Aiper Scuba X1 Robotic Pool Cleaner Review: Powerful Cleaning, Smart Design

If you’re anything like me, the dream is a pool that always looks swimmable without you having to ha...

YepAI Emerges as AI Dark Horse, Launches V3 SuperAgent to Revolutionize E-commerce

November 24, 2025 – YepAI today announced the launch of its V3 SuperAgent, an enhanced AI platf...