Climate Tech Partners backs Hullbot in cutting shipping emissions: $16m series A
4 November, 2025, Sydney: Leading Australian robotics company decarbonising global shipping, Hullbot, has closed a $16m (AUD) Series A round, to expand its leading climate tech globally.
Hullbot’s technology enables proactive hull cleaning that lowers emissions, reduces toxic paint reliance, and helps stop the spread of invasive species. The company has already cleaned more than 82 vessels worldwide, performing over 1,000 cleans and preventing more than 3,600,000 kg of CO₂ emissions. Hullbot has proven fuel savings of 10–26% cutting operating costs and emissions across existing fleets.
The $16m round was led by US and European based Regeneration VC and included Climate Tech Partners among other leading investors - Katapult Ocean, Folklore, Trinity Ventures, Rypples, NewSouth Innovations, and Bandera Capital.
With the global shipping industry focusing on fuel efficiencies and reducing emissions, Hullbot is primed to expand into the international shipping sector. The Series A funding builds on the strong corporate traction of Hullbot’s current customers, including ferry operators and small cruise vessels.
This capital will enable Hullbot to scale Australian-built robotics production, develop larger robotic platforms, and expand its service hubs internationally. Hullbot is launching BigBot, a larger version of the current technology that allows the robot to travel with the vessel.
“Hullbot’s mission is to help shipping companies cut emissions, costs, and ocean impacts all at once,” said Tom Loefler, CEO of Hullbot.
“By scaling our service globally, we can deliver fuel savings and decarbonisation today while preparing the industry for stricter regulations tomorrow.”
Tom Kline, Co-founder of Climate Tech Partners said, “Global shipping’s emissions are a hard to abate sector and Hullbot has positioned itself to be a global leader in this space.
“We see extraordinary potential for Hullbot to become the global standard in autonomous hull maintenance and maritime emissions reduction.
“Our model is built on working with corporates to deploy technologies at scale.
“Hullbot fits that perfectly — delivering significant emissions reductions while reducing operating costs. We’re forecasting that their system will become the reference for ferries and shipping operators globally.”
NRMA Marine CEO Nell Payne said that “Hullbot has delivered exceptional results for our fleet. We've seen a strong ROI through significant fuel savings and reduced CO2 emissions.”
With the close of its Series A, Hullbot is poised to scale rapidly and deliver on its mission: cleaner oceans, lower emissions, and a regenerative future for the maritime industry. Earlier this month Hullbot was awarded the Australian Good Design Award of the Year—the nation’s highest design honour—beating global giants such as Tesla, Hyundai, and Polestar. In addition to the top award, Hullbot secured Gold and Best in Class Awards for Commercial & Industrial Product Design, underscoring its industry-leading innovation, scalability, and environmental impact.
This raise marks the first investment from Climate Tech Partners’ new fund, focused on supporting technologies capable of accelerating emissions reduction across hard-to-abate industries.
About
Climate Tech Partners (CTP) is an Australian-based climate venture platform focused on deploying capital into early-stage technologies that address industrial decarbonisation across energy, transport, mining, and industry. With deep sectoral expertise and a unique corporate partnership model, CTP is designed to accelerate commercialisation pathways for startups while delivering strong returns to investors.
Founded in 2015, Hullbot is an Australian climate technology company building and operating autonomous robots that clean vessel hulls in-water. By reducing drag and preventing biofouling, Hullbot enables shipowners and operators to save fuel, cut emissions, and improve performance. Hullbot’s unique robotic system can also clean hard-to-reach surfaces such as propellers, setting it apart from traditional solutions. The company operates globally with entities in Australia and the US, serving clients across ferries, cruises, and the expanding shipping sector.
Media Contact
Ranya Alkadamani | Ranya@impactgroupinternational.com | +61 434 664 589
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We are proud to announce our first investment in Sydney-based startup, Hullbot, a pioneering robotics company tackling one of the maritime industry’s most pressing challenges: fuel efficiency and emissions reduction through proactive autonomous hull cleaning robots.
