HydGene at Policy Talks 2025: The Role of Public Finance in Innovation

HydGene Renewables’ Chief Commercialisation Officer, Dr Natalie Curach, was invited to speak at Policy Talks 2025, hosted by the Australian Public Policy Institute at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music on 12th May. The event brought together government, industry, and research leaders to explore how public finance can drive innovation and economic resilience in New South Wales.

Framed around the recently released NSW Industry Policy and Innovation Blueprint, the evening focused on how strategic public investment can unlock long-term, mission-driven outcomes - across clean energy, advanced manufacturing, housing, and emerging technologies.

The keynote address by The Hon. Anoulack Chanthivong MP, NSW Minister for Industry and Trade, called for a more coordinated public finance agenda to support complex economic transitions. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Libby Hackett (CEO, APPI), Simon Rowell (JMI), Paul Peters (Energy Security Corporation), and HydGene’s Dr Curach, who shared insights from HydGene’s growth journey - from a university-initiated project to a fast-moving startup supported by $13.3 million in public and private funding.

Dr Curach highlighted how targeted early-stage support, through grants, partnerships, and public-private alignment, enabled HydGene to stay rooted in the Australian ecosystem while scaling its waste-to-hydrogen platform. Her reflections contributed to a broader discussion on how government investment can fill the capital gap from a first-of-a-kind infrastructure investments.

The panel also explored the role of public finance in shaping markets; not just supporting individual projects, but influencing investor confidence and accelerating deployment of enabling infrastructure like firming capacity, clean fuels, and critical supply chains.

Hosted as part of the Policy Talks series in partnership with the NSW Policy Community of Practice, the event reinforced the importance of joined-up policymaking and long-term investment signals to ensure innovation can translate into real-world impact.

Read the full recap via the Australian Public Policy Institute: Mobilising public finance for a future-ready economy