At the PETRONAS FutureTech 3.0 Demo Day held in Kuala Lumpur recently, 10 technology-driven start-ups were award recipients of the national energy company’s accelerator programme after they showed the most potential in developing impactful, future-focused and sustainable innovations that are able to meet energy transition needs.

Among the 10 selected during Demo Day, five — Entomal Biotech Sdn Bhd, Wildfire Energy Pty Ltd, SunGreenH2, Kazam EV Tech Pte Ltd and Beep Technologies Pte Ltd — will be taking part in a regional immersion programme specially curated by PETRONAS Ventures.

The experience aims to deepen the companies’ learning in product design and further prepare them for financial management and fundraising, as well as open potential windows to regional markets.

The other five start-ups — A2Tech Sdn Bhd, Hydrexia Sdn Bhd, Zapp World, V-CRED and Qarbotech Sdn Bhd — received RM10,000 each, sponsored by Malaysia’s start-up ecosystem platform, MYStartup, to motivate them to further develop their business.

Demo Day followed an intensive 16-week workshop and coaching by industry experts for 25 start-ups selected from more than 400 applicants from across the Asia-Pacific region.

During the event, 25 start-ups pitched their cutting-edge business solutions to the top leadership of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) and programme partners. Also present were representatives of various government agencies, venture capitalists from Malaysia and abroad, start-ups, members of academia and the public, eagerly seeking insights into the cohort that were pitching.

Sustainable innovations presented during Demo Day included robotics programming, advancements in green chemistry, revolutionary electric vehicle (EV) battery swapping technology, state-of-the-art hydrogen storage equipment, game-changing supercharging electrolysers and an artificial intelligence-enabled platform for monitoring carbon emissions. Several waste-to-energy technologies and a range of products derived from organic sources were also featured as part of the programme’s commitment to sustainability and environmental consciousness.

PETRONAS FutureTech, organised by PETRONAS Ventures, the group’s corporate venture capital arm, is dedicated to supporting technology start-ups to transform their innovative ideas into winning businesses.

This programme helps entrepreneurs by coaching them in business skills, providing a fast-tracked commercialisation path through business matching and immersion, offering test bedding opportunities, and increasing their visibility to the value business chain of PETRONAS and its partners and networks.

Comprising masterclasses, workshops and coaching by mentors and business industry experts, the programme provides start-ups with the opportunity to scale their ventures through the acquisition of new capabilities and skillsets and access to new markets and industry needs. This helps shape them to be global-ready to solve business challenges with local innovations.

Arni Laily Anwarrudin, Head of PETRONAS Ventures, said PETRONAS is committed to building strategic partnerships both locally and regionally with other corporations and ecosystem players to offer a wider platform for start-ups seeking to succeed and grow their innovative technologies while focusing on real customer needs.

“Through this third edition of FutureTech, we hope to be able to assist these start-ups by providing greater market access for growth and scalability across the globe, while at the same time supporting the sustainable development journey of Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific region amid the energy transition,” Arni said.

The expansion of FutureTech 3.0 to include Asia-Pacific companies reflects the region’s increasing importance as a hub for new technologies and financial capital.

Joining PETRONAS Ventures in the latest instalment of FutureTech this year are seven new corporate partners, namely Tenaga Nasional Bhd, DRB-HICOM Bhd, Gentari Sdn Bhd, Sembcorp Industries Ltd, Hyundai Motor Company, Vitol and Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

FutureTech 3.0 is also supported by various ecosystem partners — Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), SG Innovate (Singapore), Leave a Nest Group (Japan), MYStartup, National Technology & Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

The extensive network of corporate partners, ecosystem partners and industry players encourages collaboration within the start-up ecosystem to foster mutually beneficial relationships. The partnerships within the programme will continue beyond Demo Day and extend into the post-programme period to further develop the discussions initiated over the course of the four months.

PETRONAS welcomes strategic collaborations from all sectors in harnessing the latest innovative solutions to enhance business, economic and national growth.

As a progressive energy company, PETRONAS is on the lookout for future-focused technology and innovation to support its business growth and advance the industry. At the same time, the group is investing in and developing cleaner energy solutions in its efforts to strive for a just and more responsible energy transition.

Set up in late-2018, PETRONAS Ventures invests globally in start-ups and high-growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to support the group’s sustainability agenda, encompassing operational decarbonisation, new low-carbon fuels businesses, and digital transformation initiatives.

To date, PETRONAS Ventures has successfully conducted 28 direct investments into start-ups focusing on five areas, namely future of industry and work, future of chemicals and materials, future of energy and mobility, frontier technology and sustainability.