wildfire
Founded 2016 · 8 employees on LinkedIn · 3 known investors
Wildfire Energy is a privately held Australian energy company operating under the Corporations Act 2001. The page offers investor updates and contact details but provides no specifics on the company's products or activities.
Also known as Wildfire Energy
Founders & leadership
Investors · 3
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Wildfire Energy is an Australian energy technology company that has developed a patent-protected gasification process called Moving Injection Horizontal Gasification (MIHG). The process is aimed at non-recyclable solid waste that would otherwise be landfilled, which the company describes as a source of pollution and around 5% of global carbon emissions, and at applications where conventional incineration is considered unsuitable, such as smaller-scale distributed projects and hydrogen production.
In the MIHG reactor, feedstock is loaded, the reactor is closed and the feedstock ignited, and an oxygen injection point is moved slowly along the reactor to gasify the fuel; the reactor is then opened to remove inert slag and reload. Raw syngas is cleaned with established gas cleanup technology and by-products are recycled back into the reactor. The cleaned syngas is either converted to electricity using gas engines or processed to separate and purify hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles and industrial use. The company positions the process as carbon negative when treating general wastes destined for landfill, and as a route to renewable electricity, hydrogen, syngas, biofuels and chemicals, reduced landfilling, and integration with material recovery facilities for a more circular economy.
The company's published solution set spans electricity, co-generation, hydrogen, biofuels and chemicals, ammonia, mixed plastics processing and circular economy applications, with modular MIHG plants offered alongside a pilot plant and a development known as Project Proton.
Business model
Wildfire Energy develops and deploys its MIHG gasification technology for waste-to-energy applications, offering modular MIHG plants and project development, and positioning the technology as a way for waste holders to cut disposal costs and generate electricity or renewable syngas behind the meter.
Traction
The company reports operating an MIHG pilot plant with operations and water gas shift updates, assembly of a commercial-scale MIHG reactor during 2025, completion of a feasibility study in 2024 and progression of a FEED study by 2026, permits approved for its first commercial project around late 2024/early 2025, and a project pipeline including Project Proton and a Nauru waste-to-power project. Corporate engagements include work with Hitachi on developing and deploying MIHG in Japan since March 2021, a term sheet with Calix, an agreement with Naturgy, and participation in the Petronas FutureTech 3.0 and PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator programs.
Latest developments
Company newsletters record a $23 million funding announcement in July 2026, a Future Waste Symposium hosted in March 2026, participation in an Australia-Japan forum in June 2026, progression of a FEED study in May 2026, relationship building in Japan in February 2026, and a green waste processing initiative around late 2025/January 2026. Earlier entries note an IChemE Global Award in November 2025, an IChemE Australasia Award in September 2025, a pilot plant operations update in October 2025, a visit by the Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga in August 2025, water gas shift operations in July 2025, and progress toward bio-methanol production in June 2025.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
The company operates in waste-to-energy and hydrogen production, and has been recognised in Australian and international innovation programs, including winning the Sustainable Communities category of the 2024 Australian Technologies Competition (selected from 136 initial applicants), the CORE Innovation Hub Hot 30 Sustainability and Innovation Award in 2022, the 2021 Hitachi Global Innovation Challenge for the Circular Economy (from 107 entrants), and IChemE Australasia and Global awards in 2025.
Wildfire Energy contrasts MIHG with incineration, which it says is not suitable for smaller-scale distributed projects or hydrogen production, and with conventional gasifiers, stating that the moving oxygen injection configuration avoids many of their problems, requires no feedstock preparation, and accepts a wide range of variable feedstocks at low cost.
Technology
The core technology is Moving Injection Horizontal Gasification (MIHG), a patent-protected process in which feedstock is loaded into a horizontal reactor, ignited, and gasified by slowly moving an oxygen injection point along the fuel bed, after which inert slag is removed and the reactor reloaded. The company states the configuration is simple, reliable and low cost, handles a wide range of variable feedstocks without pre-treatment, and avoids problems encountered by conventional gasifiers. Downstream, raw syngas is cleaned using established technology with by-products recycled to the reactor, and the clean syngas is either burned in gas engines for power or processed to separate and purify hydrogen.
Go-to-market
The company markets directly through its website via collaboration and project enquiry forms and a monthly newsletter, and has built visibility through technology competitions, accelerator programs and industry events, including the Australian Technologies Competition, CORE Innovation Hub's Hot 30, World Hydrogen Leaders, the Hitachi Global Innovation Challenge, Petronas FutureTech 3.0 and the PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator.
Local councils and municipalities responsible for domestic and general waste collection and disposal; private waste operators seeking to reduce disposal costs, avoid landfill levies and extend landfill life; general industry including large-scale manufacturing, metals recycling (automotive shredder residue), recycling and composting residuals; agriculture and farming operations such as piggeries; and asphalt plants.
Geography
Headquartered in Australia, with technology development and project activity extending to the Pacific (including Nauru and a hosted visit by the Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga), Japan (work with Hitachi and Australia-Japan forum participation) and South Korea (converting marine waste).
History
Wildfire Energy's public record of milestones begins with the March 2021 Hitachi Global Innovation Challenge for the Circular Economy win and subsequent collaboration with Hitachi on MIHG deployment in Japan, followed by a best Lightning Tech Talk award at World Hydrogen Leaders in June 2021 and the CORE Innovation Hub Hot 30 Sustainability and Innovation Award in March 2022. From 2023 the company reported a $1 million grant, hydrogen equipment installation, a Naturgy agreement, a Calix term sheet and the Petronas FutureTech 3.0 win; 2024 brought a completed feasibility study, a Pacific project, the Australian Technologies Competition Sustainable Communities win and permits for its first commercial project; 2025 covered commercial reactor assembly, pilot plant operations and IChemE awards; and 2026 entries report a symposium, FEED study progress and new funding.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 19
launches, deals, and filingsCompany newsletter titled "Wildfire secures $23M in new funding".
Newsletter covering December 2024/January 2025 reports permits approved for the company's first commercial project.
Named winner of the Sustainable Communities category of the 2024 Australian Technologies Competition, narrowed from 136 applicants to 62, then 37 finalists pitching to a judging panel.
Company newsletter reports Wildfire was awarded a $1 million grant.
Won the Sustainability and Innovation Award in CORE Innovation Hub's Hot 30 list of technologists and entrepreneurs in mining, energy, resources, oil & gas, space and defence.
Voted best Lightning Tech Talk for World Hydrogen Leaders; talk given online by Denis Doucet.
Named a winner of the 2021 Hitachi Global Innovation Challenge for the Circular Economy; 107 startups entered, 26 reached semi-finals and 8 the finals. Wildfire has since worked with Hitachi on developing and deploying MIHG technology in Japan.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- wildfirewildfireenergy.com.au · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does wildfire do?
- Australian company developing Moving Injection Horizontal Gasification to convert non-recyclable waste into power and hydrogen.
- Who are wildfire's investors?
- wildfire's investors include Artesian, Brinc, Climate Tech Partners.