CTC #87 - Smarter buildings with AI

CLIMATE CAPITAL

Parity closes Series B to optimize building energy use

What happened: Parity secured $26.1M in Series B funding led by Idealist Capital for its AI-powered heating and cooling optimization software. 

Parity uses AI to optimize the heating, ventilation and cooling systems in multi-family buildings and hotels, reducing energy use and emissions. Their solution also provides automatic demand response, adjusting HVAC use when energy demand is high. 

Why it matters: Buildings contribute 13% of Canada’s emissions and consume 40% of energy globally. Parity claims that multi-family buildings are particular culprits, wasting up to 1/3rd of the energy consumed. With their remote optimization software, they say they can cut utility costs by 30%.

That’s a win-win for building owners looking to improve the economics of their properties while also reducing the carbon footprint of their portfolio. A better emissions profile can attract new investors and more jurisdictions like New York and Vancouver are starting to enforce emissions disclosures for buildings.

What’s next: Parity plans to use the fresh capital to expand in the US and take on adjacent verticals like senior and student housing.

CLIMATE CAPITAL

🚢 Glas Ocean Electric received $198K from Nova Scotia’s new Fisheries and Aquaculture Energy Efficiency Innovation Fund to convert vessels to their electric hybrid drive system.

MILESTONES & PRODUCT

🤝 Cleantech incubator 2 Degrés, accelerator Cycle Momentum, and IVÉO, a municipal innovation accelerator, formed the Cleantech Consortium to deliver a start-up creation model from ideation to commercialization. The new consortium received $3.5M from the Quebec government.

🚌 Former Tesla, Meta and Apple leaders launched Argo, a new venture aimed at transforming public transportation and improving mobility in cities. 

🏭 Hyperion Global Energy partnered with Lafarge Canada to pilot their carbon recycling system which captures carbon emissions from Lafarge’s cement plant for use in low-carbon concrete. 

🚚 dynaCERT acquired a 15% stake in Cipher Neutron, a developer of advanced membranes for hydrogen electrolyzers. dynaCERT offers hydrogen-based systems that reduce the emissions from diesel engines.

NEWS

CNL wants Canada to lead on fusion

What happened: Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) unveiled a new plan to make Canada a fusion powerhouse. The plan calls for the feds to “mobilize a fusion ecosystem” through policy and a clear mandate. 

To kickstart the effort, CNL is expanding two of its flagship clean energy programs. It’s opening up its small modular reactor Invitation Process to include fusion prototype reactors, and will expand the popular Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative (CNRI) to have a bigger focus on fusion R&D. 

Why it matters: Fusion energy has huge potential for abundant, zero-emissions energy. Fusion is the same reaction that powers the stars - unlike nuclear, which generates energy by splitting atoms, fusion combines two atoms into one. This unleashes a huge amount of energy - nearly four million times more energy than the chemical reaction produced by burning coal.

Fusion also has a high energy density, produces no greenhouse gas emissions, and little to no radioactive waste.

The context: Interest in fusion energy has surged over the past few years, with more than 40 private companies operating globally backed by more than $8 billion. Burnaby, B.C.’s General Fusion is one of the leaders and counts Jeff Bezos and Tobi Lutke as investors.

While fusion is one of those technologies that always seems to be just 10 years away, steady progress is being made. Various demonstration facilities are getting closer to ignition or are beginning to sustain fusion reactions for very short periods of time. 

What’s next: CNL wants Canada to lead the charge through to ignition, tapping into CNL’s deep expertise in next-gen nuclear and advanced facilities. Innovation Minister Champagne expressed interest in fusion last year, but that hasn’t yet materialized into a concerted policy effort.

IN THE NEWS

⛏️ Chinese rare earth deal blocked: The feds swooped in to stop stockpiled rare earth materials from being sold to a Chinese buyer. The minerals were owned by a small Australian mining company operating in the Northwest Territories. The Saskatchewan Research Council will buy the stockpile for $3M as part of a wider effort to prevent Chinese firms getting more involved in the country’s critical minerals sector.

⚡️ EV sales stay strong: Electric vehicle sales are up more than 50% compared to last year. More than 31,000 battery electric vehicles were sold in Q1. However, sales were down slightly compared to Q4. The US saw a bigger slowdown, and EV makers are lowering their sales forecasts. Despite the slowdown, data from Bloomberg shows EV adoption headed for another record year. 

💰 CGF backs waste-to-energy: The Canada Growth Fund (CGF) announced its second carbon offtake agreement for a waste-to-energy plant in Alberta. The CGF’s goal is to accelerate the deployment of key decarbonization technologies, and the fossil fuel industry has been vocal about the need for more government support for CCUS projects. Capital Power cancelled a high-profile carbon capture project because the project wasn’t “economically viable”.

🌳 National strategy for nature: The feds announced Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy, a new framework to protect nature and biodiversity. One in five assessed species in Canada is currently at risk. The strategy aims to implement protections for 30% of land and water by 2030 and conserve species in partnerships with provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders. The strategy includes reporting requirements for the government.

💨 NS and NL urge offshore wind: The governments of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland urged the Senate to pass a bill that would kickstart wind farms off the East Coast. The provinces warned that delaying the bill to the fall could mean a year of lost investment. But not everyone's on board - groups like the fishers union and Mi'kmaw Chiefs want more time to look at the potential impacts before giving the green light.

BIG PICTURE

Alt protein company Mycorena is discontinuing its large-scale factory citing less investor interest in capital-intensive food-tech projects; cultivated meat startup SCiFi Foods is also shutting down.

The EU introduced new tariffs on Chinese EVs, up to 38%, following even higher tariffs from the US the week prior.

Algae-based carbon removal company Running Tide is shutting down due to a scale back in the voluntary carbon markets.

Insurance helped 46,000 Indian women avoid working in deadly heatwaves.

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and fusion developer TAE will explore fusion-powered carbon removal.

This deck from RMI shows how we’ve often underestimated the speed of the energy transition.

The Environmental Defence Fund is funding research into the promise and perils of solar geoengineering.

WHAT’S GOING ON

📅 Climate Leap - Building Low-Carbon Cities: Join Ottawa’s climate community to explore how cities are responding to climate change with a guest speaker from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. June 20th, Ottawa.

🚀 Industrial Transformation Challenge: This challenge will provide up to $50 million towards technology scale-up, pilot demonstration, and first-of-kind projects that reduce emissions in Alberta’s industrial sector. Apply by June 21st.

📅 The Canadian Climate Investor Conference: Hosted by Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, this conference brings together growth-oriented clean tech and renewable energy companies and investors. June 25th. 

🚀 IESO Grid Innovation Fund: The Ontario IESO is seeking project proposals for innovative projects focused on electrification and demand management for EVs and HVAC. Apply by July 22nd.

💻 Blaise Transit is hiring a Project Success Coordinator to support clients with implementation and launch. Find more open roles on our Job Board.

WORK WITH US

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