Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is the headline sponsor of the state government’s WA Innovators of the Year Awards this year, where bolstering innovation within the mining and resources sector is a key focus for the miner.
Finalists for the Rio Tinto Emerging Category includes Acculaser and its guided drilling project, Ekion and its electrokinetic metal mining project, and Electric Power Conversions Australia for its electric off-road mining truck.
Indigivision has also made the list with its Healthy Country Framework, which is a land use planning technology that allows Traditional Owners to lead heritage protection and sustainable development.
Finalists for the Rio Tinto Growth Category includes Clear Carbon, Greenroom Robotics, and SpaceDraft.
Other awards categories include the Westfarmers Wellbeing Category, the Business News ‘Great for the State’ Category, and the Woodside Energy Innovation Category.
Winners from each of Rio’s categories will receive $60,000, and two runners up receiving $15,000 across the greater share of $280,000 in award prizes.
Winners will be announced at the WA Innovators of the Year Awards ceremony on 3 November 2025 at the Crown Perth.
Science and Innovation Minister Stephen Dawson says the government expanded the program this year, introducing a new category to further recognition across young innovators as the “next generation of problem solvers”.
“Innovation is thriving in Western Australia, and the record-breaking 91 applications for this year’s WA Innovators of the Year Awards prove just how much momentum is building in our local innovation ecosystem,” Dawson says.
Finalists will engage with the Accelerator Program ahead of the ceremony for training in pitching, mentoring, legal and IP support, and social media strategy to best promote innovations.
The program was first launched in 2006, the Western Australian Government continues to focus on startups, entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized enterprises through the awards.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Rio Tinto
