Written by John Anthony and Andrea O’Neil

Photograph by Sabrina Hyde

WITH a population of 6000 people, Otaki looks no different from all the other rural New Zealand towns dotted along State Highway One. But this humble little community, nestled 75 kilometres north of Wellington, is sitting on a very promising nest egg. Otaki is looking to become a world-leading hub in today’s hottest field – clean technology.

Clean tech is a rapidly growing global industry, defined by products, processes or services that use energy and resources more efficiently and have a lower environmental footprint.

Otaki’s Clean Tech Centre of Excellence was officially opened last November, with 240 key business shapers gathering to check out the facility and its early residents. The centre is a joint venture between Kapiti Coast District Council and business development agency Grow Wellington, and aims to bridge the gap between clean technology ideas and international commercialisation. It is the first of three centres of excellence planned by Grow Wellington, with a health education hub and a screen and digital centre still to follow.

Otaki’s two-storied, 560 square metre facility will be a collaborative environment where researchers and businesses can physically trial new ideas and develop them into a commercial reality. Grow Wellington’s centres of excellence manager Steven Finlay says businesses get high value for low cost at the centre – residents are offered low rent, business mentoring, networking opportunities and connections to relevant government departments, investors, and research institutions.

It is hoped that a recent collaboration with the Stephen Tindall-led Kiwi Expatriates Association (KEA) will expose the centre’s products to a global network of wealthy investors. “For clean technology businesses it’s a fantastic opportunity to get out of their garage and come into our purpose-built facility,” Finlay says.

Finlay, a fast-talking Scotsman, has big aspirations for any business looking to join the centre. “Our goal collectively is to make fantastic, inspirational, world changing businesses.” The economic aspirations of the centre are not to be overlooked either. “We have an aspirational goal for each centre of excellence to reach one billion dollars in economic benefit over 10 years.”

While the centre will attract businesses at all levels of maturity, their common goal will be looking for a globally relevant field to innovate in. “We take ideas and we build companies. We take companies and we build global businesses,” Finlay says. By joining the centre’s cluster, clean tech start-ups can overcome the challenges they face together by sharing ideas and knowledge – and can help attract investors. Mike Henare, chief executive of centre member SpectioNZ, says: “Whenever you get entrepreneurial people together things happen and ideas are formed.”

Finlay admits it will not be easy for clean tech centre residents to succeed in hotly-contested international markets. Other countries are already spending the equivalent of New Zealand’s gross domestic product on clean tech research alone. This means a “fast fail” approach will be essential in achieving international commercialisation. “What we have to do is demonstrate commercial applications quickly. If that means it is a fast fail then we can learn from that and try another approach.”

But he remains confident the centre can leverage New Zealand’s global reputation for innovation, low corruption and the close relationships between business and research. Wellington, in particular, is recognised as a technology leader, he says. “I’ve occasionally been criticised for being a little bit too passionate in my selling of what we’ve got in the Wellington region, but we have to do that. We have to keep showing, and showcasing the real science and business and education smarts that we’ve got here.”

And, he says, taking Wellington’s clean tech products to the world will only get easier as the centre’s reputation grows – and the aspirations of its member companies along with it.

A clean start

SpectionZ technologies is one example of a truly innovative clean tech business. the company joined the clean tech centre two years ago, when both were in early development. “At that stage it was no more than an idea that looked promising,” chief executive mike Henare says.

SpectionZ technology combines two well-proven technologies: pyrolysis and microwave heating. Pyrolysis breaks down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, much like a landfill, however SpectionZ have managed to speed up the process to occur in seconds rather than years. All by-products of the process – gas, char and liquids – have commercial value.

The Otaki clean tech centre helped SpectionZ formulate a business plan, engage with investors and develop their technology. “they helped prove the need but also provided expert advice and resource such as business planning and access to intellectual property advice.”

Henare recommends that anyone with a good clean tech idea should make contact with the centre early to determine whether or not the concept has commercial viability. “many good ideas never come to light because the process looks daunting and many average ideas go too far and financially impact people when the idea should really never have been developed,” he says.