CTC #43 - Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies

Hey there, 

The playing field for energy shifted substantially this week as the feds fulfilled a 14 year-old pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. PM Harper and the other G20 leaders made the commitment back in 2009, and now Canada is the first to follow through. But not all subsidies are created equal, and some will be sticking around.

In this week’s issue we also have funding for climate monitoring, Vive Crop Protection joins Canada’s hypergrowth program, and climate and AI drove stronger Q2 tech funding. Let’s go!

💰 Funding

🔥 SenseNet (Vancouver, BC) raised $1.3M in funding for its fire-detection technology from TiE’s angel network. SenseNet deploys a network of sensors that collect data in real time and use AI algorithms to detect potential fires.

📊 SensorUp (Calgary, AB) raised $12M in Series B funding from Climate Investment and Evok Innovations. SensorUp’s software enables oil & gas producers to detect and mitigate methane leaks through a centralized data platform that works across Measurement, Reporting, Verification, and Repair.

🌎 Othersphere (Victoria, BC) closed $3M in seed financing for its location optimization platform for low-emission commodities. Othersphere’s platform helps customers determine ideal sites to develop new assets like clean hydrogen based on variables like economics, emissions impact and local regulations. The round was led by Active Impact Investments.  

🔋 Troes (Markham, ON) closed an undisclosed amount in “pre-Series A” funding led by Mobility Innovation fund for their modular battery energy storage solution. Troes describes its battery storage as a “microgrid in a box”, and is focused on enabling simple and accelerated microgrid projects.

📊 Manifest Climate (Toronto, ON) received a $1M repayable investment from the federal government for its corporate climate strategy platform. Manifest provides companies with climate-related insights to develop climate risk planning strategies. The funding will be used to accelerate growth and grow the team. 

📈 Milestones

Halifax’s Smallfood is raising a Series A round and will open the company’s first commercial plant in Dartmouth, NS.

Vive Crop Protection will join the first cohort of Canada’s Global Hypergrowth Project, a program to help high-growth companies become anchor firms.

Solar panel manufacturer Heliene will expand its US operations with a new factory that will produce about 1 GW of modules and 1.5 GW of solar cells per year.

Rain Cage Carbon has developed a new process to create specialized molecules for industrial use from captured CO2.

Montreal’s Pyrowave announced it will use microwaves to produce low-carbon cement in addition to its microwave-based plastic recycling business.

Hydro-Québec subsidiary EVLO will build its first US battery energy storage system with a 3MW project in Vermont. 

Hydrofuel Canada is partnering with UofT’s Solar Fuels Group to develop photo-reforming hydrogen which uses light to produce hydrogen. 

Volt Lithium will partner with two nanotechnology labs at the University of Alberta to develop water processing technology to extract lithium from oilfield brines.

Toronto-based miner Avalon Advanced Materials will open a lithium hydroxide plant in Ontario, part of an effort to become a vertically integrated lithium producer.

Smart thermostat company Mysa will expand into the European Union to grow and diversify its business.

Vancouver’s NEO Battery Materials will expand into Canada through a new R&D centre in Ontario.

🌎 In the news

NATIONAL

Levelling the playing field: The federal government will end “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, following through on a 2009 G20 pledge. The changes specifically target subsidies that would expand or support unabated fossil fuel development. Under the new rules, subsidies are considered inefficient unless they meet specific criteria like supporting abated production through CCUS, Indigenous participation in fossil fuels, enabling significant emissions reductions, and more. The feds will also introduce an implementation plan in 2024 to phase out remaining public funding.

Speaking of subsidies: A new report found that Canada has key gaps in bankable funding for climate tech, which provides the up front certainty to green light projects. Canada’s incentives for low-carbon technology will generally level the playing field with those offered through the U.S. Inflation Reduction act, but the bankable gap will “make it difficult for Canada to systematically attract investment in key low-carbon technologies”. The result - more bespoke dealmaking like the Volkswagen plant in Ontario.

• Canada joined calls to pause deep sea mining until more research on the ecological impact has been completed and regulations are in place. 

• Canada is on track to meet the federal government’s EV charger goals until 2027 with about 95K L2 chargers and 5600 L3 chargers across the country.

• The feds unveiled criteria for the $1.5 billion Strategic Innovation Fund focused on critical minerals projects.

• Climate tech and AI drove a 43% increase in investments in Canadian private tech companies in Q2 vs Q1. Climate tech took home 21.4% of all investments.

• Home insurance premiums are climbing in Canada due to extreme weather. 10% of Canadian households are at high risk of flooding.

• A new report says oil sands production will need to be cut by up to 1.3M barrels per day to meet 2030 emissions targets, while the industry is on track to increase production by 1M barrels per day.

• Canada’s oil & gas industry could reduce methane emissions for as little as $11/tonne of carbon, far less expensive than the current $65 federal carbon tax.

PROVINCIAL

Alberta filed charges against a carbon offset verification firm for providing false information, the first charges under the province’s carbon trading system. 

Edmonton International Airport is partnering with Toyota to deploy 100 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to reduce emissions and act as a hub for hydrogen pilots.

To help prepare workers for a low-carbon economy, B.C. is investing $270M to build a new Centre for Clean Energy and Automotive Innovation.

B.C. will ban the sale of both fossil fuel-based and compostable or biodegradable plastics and promotes reusable materials.

The Ontario government is setting up a Demonstration Zone for mobility solutions to showcase innovation and support testing in real-world environments.

Ontario’s new battery energy storage systems may end up being powered by gas plants instead of renewables.

Neskantaga First Nation took the Ontario government to court over flawed consultation on a road to the “Ring of Fire” mining region.

Ontario has yet to plug high risk gaps in its regulations for mining tailings ponds, limiting the government's ability to act when spills occur.

A new living lab will be established in Ontario, bringing together industry and scientists to develop climate-friendly on-farm management practices. 

TC Energy and Saugeen Ojibway Nation are working on a partnership to build a 1,000 MW pumped storage project in Ontario.

Quebec launched an industry-funded EV battery recovery program to ensure all EV batteries are recovered at their end-of-life.

A consortium of Quebec-based aerospace companies will supply sustainable aviation fuels to Air France-KLM Group, with the first deliveries in 2030. 

EverWind will invest $1B to develop its green hydrogen and ammonia hub in Nova Scotia, and purchased three wind farm projects for the project’s first phase. 

Saskatchewan’s oil & gas methane emissions may be up to 40% higher than previously reported due to estimates used in regulations.

📣 What’s going on

📅 Startup Showcase: MMV & Transacting: This event highlights the opportunities and challenges in developing carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) with a focus on Measurement, Monitoring, and Verification. Join to hear from founders working in this space. Online, August 9th.

📌 Jobs

Visit the Climate Tech Canada job board to see open roles in User Experience, Software Engineering and HR at companies working on distributed energy, EV charging, plant-based foods, and more!

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and if you’re enjoying the newsletter, share it with a friend!