Inside TOCW: Time to lead

TECH

Ready for take-off at Toronto Climate Week

What started out as a soft launch with 20 events became a 100+ event launch for Toronto Climate Week - a sign of how much is already happening. Rather than trying to manufacture momentum, this week felt like a recognition of the already work underway.

Even with shifting politics and economic headwinds, the message across TOCW was that Canada has a rare opportunity to lead on climate - but that securing that leadership is far from a sure thing.

🔍️ A window of opportunity

Canada has a huge opening to lead on climate. As the U.S. walks back key pieces of federal climate policy and public incentives, the rest of the world continues to treat the clean economy as a central pillar of competitiveness.

We already have some of the top climate tech startups (9 of the Global Cleantech 100), talented researchers, scientists and founders, and a cleantech ecosystem worth more than $41 billion.

But Rick Smith from the Canadian Climate Institute offered a reality check: American disinterest won’t last forever. The intervening period is our moment to lead - but the window will close.

PwC’s Elliott Cappell picked up on the same signal at New York Climate Week: big corporates haven’t slowed their climate investments; they’re just using different words and being quieter about it.

Takeaway: The coming months and years will test our ability to seize the moment and back home-grown climate winners. We need to show that climate ambition = economic ambition.

⛔️ Uncertainty is slowing us down

Uncertainty is the constant undercurrent. From the unpredictability of our biggest trading partner to our own backyard - cancelled carbon pricing, on-again-off-again incentive programs, and endless pilots.

This in-between era is leading to a “wait and see” approach for many investors, but entrepreneurs and climate builders are adapting. Jouleia unveiled its home retrofit financing platform to keep retrofits moving without relying on government incentives, while nature-based solution startups are responding to lost trust in the voluntary carbon markets with higher integrity standards and diversified revenue models.

Takeaway: Builders are doing their part - policymakers and regulators need to match that urgency by creating near-term clarity and frameworks to build and deploy climate solutions.

🤝 Action takes a village

Real climate progress depends on partnership - across governments, communities, and industries. What stood out at TOCW was how it expanded the tent beyond the usual tech and finance people and brought in Indigenous voices, community organizers, artists and more.

Working with Indigenous peoples is key to climate action: not just for consent, but for partnership and ownership. Done well, Canada can be a model for driving clean economic growth and reconciliation.

That looks like equity partnerships in major projects but also investment in Indigenous-led work like Carolinian Canada’s biodiversity and climate resilience projects or Onion Lake Cree Nation’s rooftop solar project.

Cities also hold a ton of potential. We often overlook them, focusing on federal actions, but they’re responsible for the gritty details of waste, water, distribution grids and more - key levers for climate action.

And while they’re often cash-strapped, they can be more nimble than higher levels of government: A collaboration with MaRS led to the City of Toronto buying 58 low-carbon systems from Effenco to decarbonize its fleet of heavy-duty vehicles.

🔑 Key takeaways:

1. We need a sense of urgency to meet the moment. Ecosystems and organizations face inertia, and we need individuals to kickstart action and accelerate the pace of change. My hope is that by next year we’re seeing step-level changes (i.e. from million-dollar pilots to $100 million-dollar scale-ups) across capital, corporate and policy.

2. Get ready for the next inning. In the next few years, more and more climate tech startups will start scaling up. To win, they’ll need new financial tools to fuel growth and fund first-of-a-kind and then next-of-a-kind projects.

3. Stay connected to the land. Sometimes it feels like tackling climate change or building a climate venture exists in a world of theory or numbers. Waabshkigan Shane Monague from Sacred Earth Solar reminded us that “our purpose is to live in better relationship with the land and with each other”. And sometimes you need to touch grass.

A huge shoutout to Becky, Chloe, and the rest of the TOCW team. I’m already looking forward to the first full Toronto Climate Week - kicking off June 1st - 7th, 2026.

Share this story: https://news.climatetechcanada.ca/p/toronto-climate-week-recap

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CLIMATE CAPITAL

🚰 FREDsense (Calgary, AB) raised $7 million in Series A funding led by HG Ventures for its PFAS detection technology. FREDsense enables industry and utilities to rapidly detect forever chemicals and accelerate cleanup.

⚡️ Voltai (Dartmouth, NS) closed an oversubscribed $1.83 million pre-seed led by Invest Nova Scotia for its modular energy harvesting system. Voltai captures kinetic energy from ocean waves and vessel movements, converting it into renewable electricity.

🔋 Aqua-Cell Energy (Kitchener, ON) secured over $450K from NorthX Climate Tech to develop its saltwater flow battery technology. FUTURi Power and Foreseeson Technology also secured funding for EV charging and battery storage.

🤖 Hyperlume (Ottawa, ON) was acquired by San Jose’s Credo for an undisclosed amount. Hyperlume develops high-speed, high-efficiency optical interfaces for AI data centres.

IN THE FIELD

🏭️ Algoma Steel is pivoting to green steel faster than planned due to U.S. tariffs and backed by $500M in government financing. It’s producing more steel than it can sell, and the electric furnaces will give it more flexible production and enable it to sell different kinds of steel.

💨 CarbonCapture moved its direct air capture pilot project from the U.S. to Alberta to take advantage of better tax incentives and regulatory landscape. It will be the largest DAC plant in Canada, removing 2,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

⚡️ Hitachi Energy is investing $270 million to expand its power transformer factory in Varennes, QC, to meet rising grid demand.

☀️ Karbon-X launched the Alberta Solar Rewards Program, enabling homeowners to earn verified carbon credits through rooftop solar systems.

🔌 Electric Circuit will install Quebec’s first megawatt charging system for heavy-duty trucks next summer, and is looking for industry test partners.

💨 GE Vernova will install its direct air capture technology at Deep Sky’s Alpha facility in Alberta, a vote of confidence in the company’s infrastructure.

⛏️ The U.S. government acquired a 5% stake in Vancouver mining company Lithium Americas and a 5% stake in a joint venture with GM

🏭️ Saint-Gobain Canada launched the world's first zero-carbon gypsum wallboard plant in Quebec, reducing emissions by 44,000 tons.

🏭️ Gates-backed Electra is proposing a $910 million clean iron plant in Canada.

♻️ RecycliCo is expanding its battery recycling tech into midstream critical minerals processing, looking to avoid the pitfalls faced by Li-Cycle.

🔋 NextStar Energy, a joint venture between LG and Stellantis, finished construction of its $5B battery manufacturing plant in Ontario and plans to ramp up production to 49.5GWh annually.

🤝 UK-based UNDO signed a deal with Barclay’s to remove over 6,500 tonnes of CO2 using enhanced rock weathering across 10,000 acres of farmland in Ontario.

💧 HyVera launched its hydrogen-on-demand technology in the U.S., opening offices in Indiana and California.

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NEWS

📡 Signals & Currents

🌬️ Nova Scotia is ramping up its wind industry, introducing a bill to allow local use of offshore wind and redoing an onshore procurement process after four bids dropped out. [Bloomberg and CBC]

🔌 Quebec walked back its zero-emission vehicle targets, aiming for 90% instead of 100% by 2035 and including hybrids. [Electric Autonomy]

🛢️ Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the province will apply to build a new pipeline through northwestern B.C. [Global]

📉 Ontario is not on track to meet its emissions targets by a wide margin. [Toronto Star]

🇨🇳 China plans to cut emissions by 10% by 2035 and expand renewable energy to six times 2020 levels as part of its new climate plan. [G&M]

🌴 Nestle and other major food companies want the EU to follow through on proposed supply chain deforestation laws [ESG Today]

🌎️ The frequency of destructive wildfires have rapidly increased since 2015 according to new insurance industry data, while a planetary boundary for ocean acidification has been passed. [CBC]

🚫 The U.S. cancelled $7.6B in clean energy awards, targeting Trump’s political enemies. [Utility Drive]

COMMUNITY

🗓️ Ocean Floor Explore: Uniting leaders in blue investing, philanthropy, technology, and exploration to pioneer a new funding model for ocean discovery. October 26-29th, Victoria, BC.

➡️ Discover more climate events.

🧑🏻‍💻 Svante is hiring multiple co-op students across materials, IT, supply chains and more, working to make commercial-scale carbon capture and removal a reality.

➡️ Find more open roles.