Two local businesses have received $25,000 in funding from Geelong council to help get their clean economy initiatives up and running.
Newtown digital creative agency Sequence Digital and North Shore housing solutions company FormFlow are recipients of the City of Greater Geelong’s Clean Economy grants (formerly the City’s Cleantech and Circular Economy grants).
Sequence Digital will use the grant money to build on its previous work with Sustainability Victoria on reusing battery cells from discarded consumer devices such as drills and vacuum cleaners.
FormFlow intends to develop and commercialise a finance model promoting circular economy in housing, replacing the traditional ‘build to buy/rent’ model with lease financing of building modules.
The funding will allow the two companies to cover costs related to materials testing, prototyping, market research, research and development, testing to achieve accreditations and standards and exploring intellectual property rights.
Sequence Digital director Patrick Blampied said he was “extremely excited and extremely grateful” to receive the grant from the City.
“The City of Greater Geelong has been very supportive of these sorts of projects,” Mr Blampied said.
“They’re always talking about Geelong being a clever, creative city, and all the innovation that’s going on, and our personal experience is that they are very supportive of that.
“What we’re doing with these batteries is sort of something that hasn’t really been done to the level of testing that we’re doing. So for them to jump on it at this early stage and support it with funding is really great to see.”
Councillor Peter Murrihy, who chairs the Environment and Circular Economy portfolio, said Greater Geelong had a global reputation as an international manufacturing and innovation hub.
“The community’s drive to make Greater Geelong more sustainable and develop cutting-edge technology and solutions continues to benefit our environment and economy,” Cr Murrihy said.
“We’re so excited to foster demand for sustainable products and collaborate with local suppliers to meet that growing demand.”
