2023 ACT Pearcey Award
At a special Pearcey Foundation roundtable event, Marcus Dawe was awarded the ACT Chief Minister’s Pearcey Entrepreneur Award by the ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr. Marcus is CEO of MCi Carbon, a clean energy scale-up that started in Canberra 17 years ago.
In 2006, Marcus teamed up with partner John Beever to develop radical carbon sequestration technologies in response to the first IPCC report. Rather than just try to work out how to ‘bury’ the carbon, Marcus and John developed technology that allows them to turn CO2 emissions into a resource, used in new low-carbon products for construction, manufacturing, and consumer markets. MCi Carbon has grown from the initial Canberra start-up – GreenMag Group – through self and government funded primary research and development to partnering with Orica and the University of Newcastle to found MCi. MCi has gone on to receive significant investor funding from Itochu Corp. of Japan and further substantial support from the NSW and Australian governments. MCi Carbon won the Prize for best Clean Energy Startup at COP26 in Glasgow from a field of 2700 entrants globally.
Marcus Dawe
Marcus Dawe is a proud Canberran and something of a serial entrepreneur. Marcus has been very supportive of the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) and has mentored many rising entrepreneurs over last 10 years. This year, the Pearcey Foundation is pleased to announce him as the 2023 ACT Chief Minister’s Pearcey Entrepreneur for his involvement in MCi Carbon.
Round Table Event
The ACT Chief Minister’s Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented by the Chief Minister, Andrew Barr at a Pearcey Round Table Event.
The round table event was centred on a final response to the Chief Minister’s challenge at our 2022 event to offer guidance to the government on how it can reduce carbon emissions in Canberra. Professor Lachlan Blackhall won the prize on the night and kindly shared the excellent bottle of Grange with his winning teammates. It was very much appreciated by the winners and envied by the other participants.
The Chief Minister was present to hear some of the round table presentations (including Lachlan’s) and noted the prestige of the prize awarded. He also challenged the Chapter for a second time to present our best thinking on helping the ACT to improve its climate impact in 2024.
Sponsors
The Pearcey Foundation would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the ACT Government and the Chief Minister, Andrew Barr for sponsoring and participating in this prestigious ICT award. The Pearcey Foundation also acknowledges the support of Jim Murphy's Market Cellars for providing a prize for the Round Table contest.
