CTC #17 - Smart construction gets a $67M funding boost, momentum grows for heavy EVs, and more

Hi there,

Welcome to another issue of Climate Tech Canada! I hope you’re enjoying the summer and staying cool. If you discovered us through the our interview Friendlier’s co-founder, you might want to also check out our deep dive on food waste from earlier this year. 

In this issue we have some big raises in modular construction, with Nexii and Intelligent City raising $45M and $22M respectively. These types of automated and modular construction solutions are a triple threat - reducing wasted material, improving energy efficiency, and speeding up construction times. 

Elsewhere, Taiga Motors announced the first deliveries of its electric watercraft, Moment Energy secured a supply of used EV batteries from Mercedes-Benz, the federal government announced $550M in purchase incentives to electrify heavy vehicles, and lots more! 

Funding

Nexii Building Solutions (Vancouver, BC) raised $45M in funding, pushing its valuation to more than $2B. Nexii designs and manufactures low-carbon building products, and will use the funding to accelerate growth and increase manufacturing capacity.

Intelligent City (Vancouver, BC) announced that it has secured $22M in Series A funding to grow its robotic manufacturing plants and expand on the west coast and into Ontario. Intelligent City uses robotics and automation to produce more sustainable prefabricated buildings. 

Fieldless Farms (Ottawa, ON) closed a $17.5M Series A round to grow their indoor farming business. Fieldless uses indoor farming technology to grow leafy greens without pesticides. Because they can be grown near consumers, Fieldless’ greens also have lower transportation emissions. The funding will allow the company  to expand their production facilities to meet demand and introduce new products.

CleanO2 (Calgary, AB) has raised $2.75M in seed funding to accelerate growth and expansion of its carbon capture technologies. CleanO2’s system captures CO2 from natural gas heating and turns it into a stable material that can be upcycled into new products. The company even produces its own line of soaps.  

Ecopia (Toronto, ON) announced an $8M partnership with Sustainable Development Technology Canada to build 3D vector maps of 100 Canadian cities. The digital representations of cities produced through this partnership will support sustainability initiatives and equip municipal stakeholders with information to better manage their cities. 

Big Mountain Foods (Vancouver, BC) received over $1.4M in funding from Agriculture Canada to expand production of its plant-based foods and to add automated equipment. The investment will also support the launch of a new, chickpea-based tofu. 

Permalution (Sherbrooke, QC) secured $100k in funding at Startupfest, winning the “Women in Tech” pitch competition. Permalution develops fog harvesting technology used for fire mitigation, conservation and reforestation. 

Radicle (Toronto, ON), a provider of emissions measurement technology and consulting solutions, will be acquired by BMO. The Radicle team will join BMO’s Capital Markets group. 

Growth & Milestones

Taiga Motors celebrated the first deliveries of its electric personal watercraft, Orca. The company says this marks the “first-ever mass-produced electric watercraft available to consumers”.

Toronto’s Peak Power (Toronto, ON) received a $765k grant from the federal Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure program to install 117 of its V1G chargers in mixed-use developments across Ontario. The chargers will use Peak’s Synergy technology that allows the chargers to draw energy when it is widely available and avoid peak times. 

Battery recycling startup Moment Energy signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to acquire the used batteries from their EVs. Moment will convert the used batteries to modules that provide rechargeable power to buildings. 

Aerospace training company CAE launched a new program to begin electrifying its fleet, with two thirds of its Piper training airplanes to be converted to battery electric systems. CAE will also begin training pilots to operate the electric planes.

In the news

The federal government launched a new purchase incentive program for medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles. The $550M program offers grants up to $200k (depending on the vehicle) for purchasing new zero-emissions vehicles. The timing could be right for heavy vehicles to have their moment. New reports show 75% of pickups and 100% of medium box trucks are ready to be electrified.

Emissions Reduction Alberta announced $40M for carbon capture utilization and sequestration projects. The projects focus on high emission industries including cement, oil and gas and fertilizer. ERA estimates the projects will reduce about 24 million tonnes of emissions annually. 

Over in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural Clean Technology program is being expanded, adding 28 new projects with $8.7M in funding.

The U.S. agreed to lift tariffs on Canadian solar products after the Canadian government successfully fought the tariffs in front of a trade dispute panel. The tariffs on imported solar products were imposed in 2018 by President Trump and extended by President Biden in February.

A carbon reduction plan for Canada’s agriculture sector is up for discussion at a meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers. The plan, advocated by Farmers for Climate Solutions, would see a 14% reduction in the sector’s emissions by 2028 vs the current projection of 1%. 

Ontario is working to expand its electricity generation capacity as demand increases and a major nuclear plant is scheduled to be retired. One potential source is Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The Ontario government launched a “Strategic Plan to Advance SMRs” earlier this year, and Ontario Power Generation recently signed an agreement with X-energy (US) to deploy 100 SMRs for industrial applications. 

Events & Opportunities

The World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit is coming to Halifax in October, hosted by The Economist and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster. The event will focus on “blue economy” technologies and showcase local innovation.

Applications are open for Innovacorp Innovate, aimed at getting Nova Scotia startups ready for investment. Streams include oceans, agriculture, and clean tech. Submission are due August 4th. 

The Global Water Challenge Canada is seeking applications from Canadian startups working on water management and efficiency. Applications close October 12th.

Submissions are open for the Alberta Advancing Hydrogen – Competition 1 program. The program is part of the province’s Hydrogen Centre of Excellence and will provide successful projects with up to $2M in funding. 

As always, thanks for reading and if you’re enjoying the newsletter, consider sharing with a friend!

Justin