CTC #83 - Investing in nature

TECH

Copilot for utilities

ThinkLabs landed $6.8M in seed funding for its AI-powered utility control room platform. The company is a spinout from GE Vernova, General Electric’s energy business. 

Based in New York, ThinkLabs was founded by Toronto-based Josh Wong. Wong previously worked at Toronto Hydro before founding Opus One, which he then sold to General Electric. 

ThinkLabs developed an AI-powered orchestration co-pilot for grid operators. The copilot builds a digital twin of the grid to create real-time models and analytics for operators to help them make better decisions. 

Why it matters: Grid orchestration is becoming more important to utilities. Distributed energy resources like rooftop solar, battery storage, and vehicle-to-grid require more advanced monitoring and management to maintain grid stability. It also helps manage the intermittent nature of renewables like wind and solar by predicting and rebalancing load.

In context: Grid orchestration isn’t a new sector, but utility customers can be hard to acquire. They’re risk averse and tend to focus on keeping costs low. ThinkLabs may be able to break through with its connection to utilities through GE. Grids are also facing many pressures, particularly in the US, that could make new solutions viable. 

What’s next: ThinkLabs will use the seed funding to set itself up as an independent company, invest in product development, and continue growing in the US and Canada.

CLIMATE CAPITAL

🦾 Relocalize closed a $2.3M seed extension for its hyper-local micro-factories. Relocalize aims to eliminate the emissions footprint from transporting food by developing micro-factories that can produce goods close to the point of consumption.

⚡️ ThinkLabs landed $6.8M in seed funding for its AI-powered copilot for utilities. Based in New York, NY, ThinkLabs was founded by Toronto-based Josh Wong.

♻️ Nfinite Nanotech secured $8.9M in seed funding for its sustainable packaging tech. Nfinite is repurposing nanocoating tech typically used in the semiconductor industry to create paper packaging that can perform like plastic.

⚡️ EdgeCom Energy received a $300K loan from FedDev Ontario to expand its predictive energy and emissions tracking tools to commercial customers.

🔌 Recharge Véhicule Électrique (RVE) received a $400K loan from the federal government to bring its smart charging systems for EVs to new markets.

MILESTONES

🧪 erthos launched erthos Studio, a new platform that uses machine-learning to deliver custom biomaterials 5x faster than the industry standard.

🏅 Impact investor Spring was named one of 25 Most Innovative Companies of 2024 by Canadian Business, alongside Flygreen, which helps consumers select lower-impact flights.

⚡️ UK-based Kraken is expanding to North America, providing their energy management platform to New Brunswick’s Saint John Energy.

🔌 ChargeHub signed a roaming partnership with Couche-Tard/Circle K Recharge that will allow to find and pay for charging using the ChargeHub app.

⚡️ An ex-Tesla Supercharger employee launched Charge On Consulting, an end-to-end EV charging services startup, after the Supercharger team was laid off.

NEWS

Investing in nature

Montréal will soon be home to a new centre of expertise focused on mobilizing finance for biodiversity and nature-based solutions.

Finance Montréal is launching the Montréal Centre for Nature-based Solutions and Biodiversity Finance, which will work on new financial mechanisms to support investments in nature like biodiversity bonds, biodiversity credits and new impact investment models.

Why it matters: Natural systems provide a ton of services that we rely on but are rarely included in economic calculations. The WEF estimates that more than half of the world’s total GDP is dependent on nature and its service.

Human activities like converting forests to agriculture, over-harvesting, and pollution, have all contributed to a huge drop in biodiversity. Wildlife populations have declined by 69% since 1970 and 28% of species are threatened with extinction. 

Canada is uniquely positioned to be a leader in nature-based solutions, stewarding 20% of the world’s freshwater, 28% of the world’s boreal forests, and 24% of the world’s wetlands.

In context: The need to support biodiversity came out of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, an agreement signed by 196 countries at COP15 in 2022. The framework lays out a roadmap to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and achieve a vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050. 

Finance is a key aspect to the framework - between $700-900 billion is needed annually to finance the protection and restoration of nature.

What’s next: Finance Montreal will build out its workplan and pull together funding and partnerships in the lead up to its full launch.

IN THE NEWS

💰 Climate funding: Funding for climate tech stabilized in Q1 with $164M invested across 11 deals according to the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA). That’s on par with Q1 and Q3 of last year. Elsewhere in VC trends, a report found that Canadian corporates are dramatically less active than their U.S. counterparts, with just 6% participating in deals last year.

☣️ Chemical Valley on notice: The federal government issued an emergency order to petrochemical makers in Ontario’s "Chemical Valley". The order comes after local First Nations raised alarms over recent benzene leaks. Benzene is a known carcinogen and used to produce plastics and other chemicals. The community of Aamjiwnaang found concentrations of benzene in the air 100x greater than in Toronto or Ottawa.

🚙 EV tariffs: Canada is exploring raising tariffs after the U.S. introduced plans for a 25% tariff on EVs, aluminum, batteries, and other Chinese imports. The US wants to prevent Chinese companies from flooding the market with low-cost materials. The new tariffs could make it easier for Canadian companies to sell in the US.

BIG PICTURE

This insurance company wants to de-risk carbon capture and storage. 

South Korea is building lithium reserves to buffer against shortages.

A $3.4B reboot for the US nuclear fuel industry.

Low-carbon hydrogen supply could grow 30x by 2030 - but still falls short of government targets.

Microsoft’s data centre and AI ambitions are making its climate goals harder to reach. 

And data centres are driving demand for low-carbon concrete.

EVENTS

🗓️ Global Sustainable Islands Summit 2024: This gathering brings together policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers passionate about creating a more sustainable future for island communities. May 21-23rd, PEI.

🗓️ Climate Careers & Community: Join the Montreal climate community to meet others who are passionate about climate solutions or explore new career paths. May 21st, Montreal.

🗓️ Climate North - Rolling Towards Sustainability: exploring the world of micro-mobility and its impact on climate change and society. May 22nd, Toronto.

💡 Circular Innovation Fund Acceleration Program: The program aims to nurture selected pre-seed and seed-stage companies working on circular solutions. Apply by May 29th.

🗓️ What could an Ottawa Climate Week look like?: Join the Climate Leap crew as we debrief on SF Climate Week and explore what we’d want to see from an Ottawa Climate Week. May 30th, Ottawa.

WORK ON CLIMATE

Check out the job board for newly posted roles from Canadian climate tech companies working on carbon management, EV charging, smart-grids and more.

➡️ Hiring? List your posting here.

Work with us

Want to get in front of 400+ climate tech founders, investors and tech operators? Get in touch at [email protected].