CTC #19 - Funding for bio-industry and a landmark hydrogen deal on the horizon

Hi there,

Welcome to another issue of Climate Tech Canada! This week’s issue features a Series A for Genecis Bioindustries, a new Canada-Germany hydrogen deal on the horizon, another dose of exciting job postings, and more! Let’s get into it.

Funding

Genecis Bioindustries (Toronto, ON) secured $12.8M in Series A funding to accelerate getting their products to market. Genecis converts food waste into biodegradable plastics and other materials, replacing plastics made from fossil fuels. Genecis graduated from Y Combinator grad and is backed by Khosla Ventures, Heinz Group and Business Development Bank of Canada among others.

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) announced $1.6M in new seed funding for sustainability-focused Canadian startups, with grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. Recipients span multiple industries, including green chemical producers, building materials, energy management and analytics, low-carbon data processing and more.

Milestones

E2metrix implemeneted its first US-based, commercial-scale unit to destroy PFAS (known as “forever chemicals”) in drinking water. Their electro-oxidation technology is already commercialized for other contaminants and enables low-cost, on-site destruction of PFAS.

Vancouver’s Klean Industries, a producer of thermal treatment facilities, is partnering with Kodexe to put waste recycling on the blockchain. The project aims to improve transparency in recycling and circular solutions by tracking and tracing materials across supply chains.

Tornoto-based STEER Technologies launched their EV subscription service in British Columbia. STEER is challenging traditional car ownership while encouraging the switch to zero-emissions transport, with a turnkey month-to-month model that includes insurance, maintenance, vehicle swaps and concierge delivery.

Universal Matter received project funding from the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) to convert waste materials into graphene.

Bombardier Recreational (BRP Inc) launched new all-electric vehicles, including two motorcycle models and an electric sea-doo hydrofoil board. 

Mississauga-based Hydrofuel is partnering with Colorado State University to commercialize a novel method of producing green ammonia. The technology decentralizes the production of ammonia while consuming less energy than current methods.

In the news

• Canada and Germany will sign a clean energy agreement later this month during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ visit to Canada. The agreement will likely see Canada selling hydrogen to Germany to help with the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Up until recently, it looked like the deal would have focused on LNG exports.

• The Canadian government is starting consultations on the future of offshore wind power in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. 

• The federal government announced $1.8M in funding for bio-industry - products made from upcycling waste by-products from agriculture or forestry. The funding will be delivered through the Biomass Quality Network to develop standards for measuring and assessing the quality of bioproducts

• The feds also announced $15.5M in funding from Natural Resources Canada and CanNor for the Beaver Creek Solar Project in the Yukon. The project includes 1.9 megawatts (MW) of solar panels and 3.5 MWh of battery energy storage, and is expected to displace 55% of diesel consumption for energy generation in the region.

• Natural Resources Canada is providing $2.4M in funding in a partnership with Indigo Park Canada to install 500 new EV charging stations in lots across Canada. Indigo will put up an additional $2.4M in funding.

• The BC government increased subsidies for EV purchases from $3,000 to $4,000 and introduced limits based on household income.  

• Tesla may be looking at Ontario for its next manufacturing facility, according to lobbying filings.

• A group of plastics manufacturers is suing to halt the federal government’s ban on single use plastic, arguing there is no evidence that plastics are toxic. With “toxic” defined in legislation as having “immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity”, the argument seems unlikely to succeed.

• Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, elected its first woman president and is advocating for an auto industry policy that prioritizes an accelerated transition to net zero.  

Jobs

Tops jobs at some of Canada’s most interesting companies:

• VP of Information Technology at Nexii Building Solutions - Vancouver, BC

• VP Business Development at CarbiCrete - Montreal, QC

• Staff Developer at Radicle - Calgary, AB

• Product Manager, Edge at Peak Power - Toronto, ON or Remote

• Software Developer - Machine Learning at BrainBoxAI - Montreal, QC

• Account Manager, Energy at Radicle - Calgary, AB

• 3D Computer Vision Engineer at Ecopia - Toronto, ON

• Data Manager at Li-Cycle - Toronto, ON

• Partnership Manager at Spare - Vancouver, BC or Remote

Here & there

The Carbon Curve is quickly becoming one of my go-to podcasts on climate. Hosted by Na’im Merchant, it goes deep into the carbon capture space. I recommend checking out this recent episode, featuring Robert Niven, CEO of Dartmouth, NS-based CarbonCure. It’s a great episode to understand the carbon capture potential in concrete and how CarbonCure is creating climate leverage in the existing production systems.

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

Justin