At the heart of every energy transition breakthrough is collaboration—across sectors, borders, and ideas. That principle came to life when Kyle van Berendonck, founder of Australian EV retrofit startup Veepower, landed in California as part of his win in the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge: Retrofit Nation.
Collaboration is key to accelerating the clean energy transition. When diverse approaches and perspectives collide, better and faster solutions emerge.
Case in point: What happens when you bring a startup from Australia, a lithium battery powerhouse, to California?
We saw that firsthand when the team at Supercharge Australia—a collaboration between New Energy Nexus and EnergyLab—brought Kyle van Berendonck, co-founder of Australian mass EV retrofit startup Veepower, to the Bay Area’s thriving clean energy ecosystem.
The visit is part of his win in the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge: Retrofit Nation: a chance to gain insight and ideas on how to convert Australia’s vast vehicle fleet into EVs.
What transpired was a packed and fruitful week:
💡 Attended San Francisco Climate Week at EDF’s Palo Alto Innovation Lab, spotlighting the retrofit opportunity amid EV rollout bottlenecks
🤝 Built relationships with industry leaders, experts, VCs, and potential partners
⚡️ Connected with California-based Range Energy, exploring how Veepower’s Veepilot system could be integrated into their electric trailers
Visit to Australia Consulate by Veepower, Supercharge Australia and NewEnergy Nexus teams
This wasn’t just about Veepower—it’s about what can happen when we bring brilliant innovators together, beyond silos and borders. In this case, retrofitting is gaining momentum in the right spaces, and if startups like Veepower get the support they need, it can only mean well for the global clean energy transition.
This is exactly what EnergyLab is building: a strong ecosystem that helps clean energy entrepreneurs scale, faster and together.
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