By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is putting its Powering Australia Technology Fund (PATF) to work to make farming more sustainable. CEFC has committed A$7 million to SwarmFarm Robotics to hasten the deployment of its autonomous SwarmBots, nimble farm robots built in regional Queensland and designed to slash chemical use and emissions across Australian agriculture. The financing supports SwarmFarm’s Series B round, led by European agtech investor Edaphon and joined by an existing backer lineup featuring QIC, Emmertech, Tenacious Ventures and Artesian Capital.
The CEFC’s Powering Australia Technology Fund makes up to A$500 million available to back climate-tech that advances the development, commercialization or uptake of clean-energy technologies, investing both directly in Australian companies and indirectly through venture capital and private equity funds to help accelerate the path to net zero by 2050.
Based in Emerald, Australia, with manufacturing capabilities in Toowomba, SwarmFarm Robotics will direct the proceeds from the round toward continued growth as it looks to scale up the production of self-driving robots to support ag and horticulture applications. Developed by farmers for farmers, SwarmBots are proving their versatility on farms across the country, tackling tasks like precision spraying to target weeds with minimal herbicide, slashing chemical use by up to 95 percent, while also handling mechanical weeding, mowing orchard rows and seeding operations in broadacre fields.
In horticulture settings, such as turf farms and sugarcane operations, the lightweight platforms equip with attachments like 12-meter booms and 1,500-liter tanks integrated with advanced detection tech, such as WeedIt systems, to deliver precise applications that cut fuel emissions and preserve soil health through controlled-traffic and no-till methods.
CEFC Head of Growth Capital Malcolm Thornton stated, “SwarmFarm’s innovation offers a commercially viable, scalable solution – and that’s exactly what the Powering Australia Technology Fund was built to support…We’re backing the next generation of Australian made agricultural technology that gives farmers a smarter, cleaner way to manage their land. SwarmFarm’s platform transforms how food is grown, using less fuel, fewer chemicals, and minimal soil disruption. SwarmFarm’s technology represents an important step forward that gives farmers new tools and practices to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture.”
So far, SwarmFarm has deployed roughly 200 robots around Australia, primarily in broadacre settings. The platform is designed to integrate a range of attachments, from precision sprayers to mowers, allowing growers to tailor tasks while reducing passes across the field, equipment outlay and operating emissions.
SwarmFarm CEO Andrew Bate commented, “This investment from the CEFC will accelerate our mission to transform agriculture through robotics. Our SwarmBots are designed to be versatile platforms that can integrate a range of attachments from different partners, from precision sprayers to mowers, giving farmers the flexibility to adapt the technology to suit their needs. They’ve already been deployed in some of Australia’s most challenging environments, and this is just the beginning, we’re creating new farming systems from the soil up. By putting smart technology in the hands of growers and providing more flexibility in addressing potential labor shortages in agriculture, we’re helping to reshape the future of growing systems.”
SwarmFarm Robotics began its journey in Central Queensland, Australia, using its own farms as a testbed for autonomous agtech. Teaming up with two universities, the co-founders, farmers Andrew and Jocie Bate, unveiled their first prototype, Agbot 1, an autonomous RTV, in an attempt to disrupt farming. Next, they launched SwarmBot 1, a 300kg, three-wheeled machine pitted against bulkier traditional equipment. Later came SwarmBot 3 for commercial spraying, followed by a turf mower attachment, backed by partners like Adama, Westpac and Elders. The 2018 debut of SwarmBot 5, Indigo, marked the first commercial turf farm deployment. Today, over 200 bots have farmed 5.1 million acres, logged 220,000 hours, and cut pesticide use by 4 million liters, driving sustainable innovation.
Last month, CEFC alongside La Caisse introduced a A$250 million Australian ag and carbon platform for which the organization signed up mining giant Rio Tinto in a foundational carbon credit offtake agreement.
The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.