# Andrew Mears

> Dr Andrew Mears is an Australian engineer and entrepreneur who founded SwitchDin in Newcastle in 2014 and formerly led it as CEO. His earlier work on renewable energy and international development included assignments with UNDP, the World Bank and AUSAID. He co-founded the Eighteen04 startup incubator and launched Tesseract ESS into the commercial and industrial energy market in 2024. His current public profile identifies Majority World Technology.

- **Role:** Principal Consultant & Founder at Majority World Technology
- **Organizations:** Majority World Technology, SwitchDin, Tesseract ESS, Eighteen04, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, AUSAID, University of Technology Sydney, BHP
- **Nationality:** Australian
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical Engineering, University of Newcastle, Master of Engineering, Manufacturing and Process Control, University of Newcastle, Doctor of Philosophy in Science, University of Technology Sydney
- **Known for:** University of Newcastle Alumni Award for International Leadership, 2011., Founded SwitchDin, developing coordination technology for distributed energy resources., Co-founded Eighteen04, supporting Newcastle clean-tech and smart-city startups.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Began as a BHP engineering trainee in the fitter-and-turner apprenticeship programme; left to study electrical engineering full-time.
- **—** — Worked on commercialising satellite communications control technology with university colleagues.
- **late 1990s** — Encountered community-built hydroelectric generators in Bougainville.
- **—** — Held renewable energy and development advisory roles, including work in Botswana and Cambodia for UNDP.
- **2011** — Returned to Australia; received the University of Newcastle Alumni Award for International Leadership.
- **2014** — Founded SwitchDin in Newcastle.
- **2015** — SwitchDin raised its first capital and released its first commercial system.
- **2016** — Public launch of Eighteen04 coworking space, with Mears identified as a co-founder.
- **2020** — SwitchDin attracted A$5 million investment from Hanwha Q Cells.
- **2021** — Horizon Power reported an 80-minute renewable-only Onslow trial using SwitchDin gateway devices alongside partner technologies.
- **2024** — Launched Tesseract ESS into Australia’s commercial and industrial market as SwitchDin’s former CEO.
- **2026** — Publicly advocated for Hunter energy transition planning and changes to the Integrated System Plan framework.

## Achievements

- University of Newcastle Alumni Award for International Leadership, 2011.
- Founded SwitchDin, developing coordination technology for distributed energy resources.
- Co-founded Eighteen04, supporting Newcastle clean-tech and smart-city startups.
- Led SwitchDin when Hanwha Q Cells invested A$5 million in 2020.
- SwitchDin named a 2020 Start Up Energy Transition award finalist.

## Latest updates

- **—** — In 2026, publicly opposed the HVO North and South coal continuation proposals, citing the 5 August 2026 submission deadline and the need for a planned Hunter transition.
- **—** — A recent public post describes his submission to the AEMC review of the Integrated System Plan framework, advocating bottom-up network planning and demand-side data; exact publication month is unverified.
- **2024-10** — Launched Tesseract ESS’s commercial and industrial offering and announced a partnership with HyperStrong at All-Energy Australia.
- **2023-06** — Spoke at Australian Energy Week about re-engineering the grid and forecasting distributed energy resources.
- **2022-11** — Participated in Beyond Zero Emissions’ clean-tech exhibit at COP27 in Egypt.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmears

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/andrew-mears
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12