CTC #68 - Canada leads on batteries, slows home retrofits

Hey there,

Welcome to another issue of Climate Tech Canada! An early spring is on the way according to Wiarton Willie, the weather-predicting groundhog. Looks like even the animals know the climate is changing.

Correction: the emailed version of this post said the Greener Homes interest-free loan program is being revamped. It’s actually the grant program that’s being re-done.

This week in climate tech:

• Feds hit pause on Greener Homes grant program

• Canada ranks #1 for battery supply chain potential

• Drop Mobility takes on growth funding for e-bike expansion

Let’s go!

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💰 Funding

🚲 Drop Mobility raised an undisclosed amount of growth funding for its e-bike sharing platform. Decathlon Capital Partners is backing the company through a revenue share model and will not acquire any equity. Drop Mobility is based in Toronto and San Francisco and enables cities to run e-bike sharing programs by providing e-bikes, software, and a dedicated operations division.

⛏️ Ucore Rare Metals received $4.2M in funding from the federal Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program for its rare earth element separation platform. The pilot project will demonstrate the commercial ability of Ucore’s technology, processing 13 to 15 tonnes of rare earth oxides.

📈 Milestones & Growth

💨 Svante will deploy a first-of-a-kind commercial-scale carbon capture plant at oil company Delek's refinery in Texas. The project includes a cost-sharing agreement with the US Department of Energy which will provide up to $95M. Svante’s plant will be hooked up to Delek’s refinery, taking in post-combustion flue gas and trapping CO2 for storage or industrial use.

🚗 Geotab, a developer of connected vehicle solutions, landed a sole-source contract with the U.S. government for over 400,000 vehicles to drive fleet efficiency and sustainability.

🌱 Maia Farms won the Farmers Den pitch competition, taking home $50K for their mushroom-based proteins. Maia’s mycoprotein has higher protein density than red meat and can be used in plant-based foods. Nine companies pitched agri-food solutions.

🗞️ In the news

🔋 Owning the battery podium. Canada ranks #1 for battery supply chain potential, passing China. The list evaluates countries’ potential to build secure, reliable and sustainable supply chains for lithium-ion batteries over the next 6-10 years. Canada secured the spot based on its ESG credentials, manufacturing growth, and access to the US auto industry which is increasingly keeping China at arms-length.

💰 Copper is the new lithium. Hedge funds are betting on copper as supply setbacks are poised to drive prices higher. A copper mine in Panama that produced 1.5% of global supply was shut down by courts earlier this year, and demand continues to grow. EVs require ~3x as much copper as ICEs. Meanwhile, other sectors that ramped up production have too much supply - solar components and battery materials in China are seeing price and production cuts.

🏡 Greener Homes Grant gets a revamp. The Canada Greener Homes program, which provides grants for home energy efficiency upgrades, will press pause. The program is a victim of its own success, with more demand than the government expected. A version of the program that is more accessible to low-income households should return in a few months, but the pause puts pressure on contractors who spun up businesses or expanded to meet demand.

In other news

• Dalhousie University is launching the Canadian Battery Innovation Centre, a R&D prototyping facility, and a new Master of Battery Technology program.

• Manitoba will add new energy generation 15 years early to meet growing demand, focusing on wind and solar. The hydro-heavy province is still carrying debt from past hydro projects.

• The feds are working to speed up permitting for clean growth projects, with plans to update the Impact Assessment Act by the spring.

• An Israeli startup received approval from Health Canada to sell its lab-grown milk protein in Canada. The notoriously strong dairy lobby will likely have thoughts.

• The EU announced plans to cut emissions 90% by 2040. However, specific policies targeting agriculture were scrapped after protests from farmers.

• Private equity firms raised +$9B this year to back clean energy assets, as tech like utility-scale solar, energy storage and anaerobic digesters mature and scale.

📣 What’s going on

📅 Decarbonizing Homes with Montreal Climate Innovation: Join Montreal’s climate community to dive into carbon-negative housing with speakers from EY, UberEnergies, and EnerZam. Feb 8th, Montreal.

📅 Cleantech: Top 20 Pitch Night: Join this online pitch night hosted by Startup TNT featuring 20 startups in cleantech. Feb 8th, online.

📅 Foresight & Canadian Space Agency Networking Event: Join this networking session to learn more about CSA’s Aqualunar Challenge and meet fellow innovators in watertech. Feb 15th, online.

📅 The Future of Buildings & the Built Environment: Join this one day event to explore the world of buildings and energy. Feb 15th, Toronto.

📅 Landscape of Canadian Science and Technology in Cellular Agriculture: Hosted by District 3 Innovation Hub, this event features insights into cellular agtech from four startup founders. Feb 15th, 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