CTC #67 - Nuclear gets a new lease on life

Hey there,

Welcome to another issue of Climate Tech Canada! Two wild stats that blew me away this week: renewable energy drove 40% of China’s GDP growth in 2023, and the country added 217 gigawatts of solar, more than the U.S. has deployed in it’s entire history.

This week in climate tech:

• Startups snag funding for sustainable foodtech

• Subterra sees geothermal surge with +300% revenue growth

• Ontario backs a plan to extend nuclear plant for 30 years

Let’s go!

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💰 Funding

💨 Cnergreen raised $2M in seed funding led by Rhapsody Venture Partners. The Calgary-based startup is developing a way to improve the performance of carbon sequestration. Cnergreen uses a foam that remains stable for months, forcing CO2 to permeate underground reservoirs. The startup is focused on CO2 enhanced oil recovery in the near term and carbon sequestration in the long term.

🌱 Five climate startups secured $200K+ each in project funding for sustainable foodtech from the Canadian Food Innovation Network. Projects include Maia Farms’ new mushroom-based proteins, CanDry Technologies’ patented dehydration method, Harvest Moon Food’s animal-free dairy and more.

📈 Milestones & Growth

🚗 Exro Technologies, a developer of drive trains for EVs, acquired California-based SEA Electric. SEA produces propulsion technology that controls all the components that electrify a vehicle, and has agreements with manufacturers Mack and Hino. Exro is also raising $30M in working capital.

💨 Carbon capture company Svante will provide their carbon filtering technology to Climeworks, a CDR-as-a-service provider.

🌋 Geothermal provider Subterra Renewables reported 386% revenue growth in 2023 driven by lower costs and policy supports.

🚍 Lion Electric started delivery of its new LionD school buses. The LionD features safety and accessibility upgrades in addition to cutting air pollution for passengers.

♻️ Wine cork recyclers ReCORK launched a new material for shoe midsoles that can replace fossil fuel foams with recycled corks.

🛩️ Bombardier introduced a second EcoJet prototype in a partnership with UVic. The project uses a blended wing design and is aiming for a 20% reduction in fuel use.

♻️ Toronto’s SixR launched a new app to drive sustainable purchasing habits for clothes by recycling used clothing and providing the value back to consumers.

🗞️ In the news

⚛️ Ontario backs Pickering extension. The Ontario government is backing a plan to refurbish Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, extending the plant’s life by 30 years. Pickering is one of the world’s largest plants and supplies about 14% of Ontario’s electricity. Ontario is looking to Pickering to help meet rapidly growing electricity demand. Approval is still needed from regulators.

🔋 Northvolt plant moves ahead. A Quebec court denied a request to halt construction on Northvolt’s battery manufacturing facility. A few days earlier, an anonymous group planted nails and steel bars in trees on the site to damage equipment and slow construction. It’s the latest in an ongoing tension within environmental circles between conservation and developing projects for decarbonization.

⛏️ First Nations call for exploration pause in Ontario. The Chiefs of Ontario say the province’s mining administration system infringes on their right to proper consultation. The system allows prospectors to register claims for exploration faster than First Nations can respond. The pause would allows First Nations to better assess claims and develop a process that includes more meaningful consultation. A court in B.C. recently found that that province’s system violated the duty to consult.

In other news

• B.C. and Manitoba are facing a hydroelectric squeeze as droughts in Western Canada lower water levels, a challenge made worse by climate change.

• Rising retirement rates are hitting renewable energy and electrical utilities, with wind and solar affected the most. The upshot? Higher wages in these sectors.

• Oil sands emissions could be 20-64 times higher than originally thought. New research measured all emissions vs the small subset that industry tracks.

• Loblaws doubled it’s electric fleet, adding 10 new electric battery trucks for short haul trips and has 25 more on order. The goal: a zero-emissions fleet by 2030.

• Researchers at Carleton University are developing a solar-driven heat storage system for use in remote northern communities by harnessing energy from breaking chemical bonds.

📣 What’s going on

📅 EV Innovation & Technology Conference: A one-day conference bringing together the best and brightest industry leaders transforming electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada. Feb 7th, Toronto.

📅 Cleantech: Top 20 Pitch Night: Part of Startup TNT’s Sector Summits, this online event features pitches from 20 climate tech ventures. Startup TNT also has an Agri-Food stream. Feb 8th, online.

💡 Early Stage Commercialization Fund - Low Carbon Technology: This program helps commercialize innovations from research institutions in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Applications close Feb 12th.

📌 Featured Roles

Visit the job board for open roles at some of Canada’s most innovative companies. Featuring new roles across software engineering, design, operations and more.

➡️ Hiring? List your posting here.

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Justin