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Sustainable Development Technology Canada Invests in 17 Cleantech Startups Through Seed Fund

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Seventeen Canadian cleantech startups received funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) seed fund, the first of four rounds planned for this fiscal year. The SDTC seed fund, which was piloted in 2019, has expanded to support up to 100 start-up companies per year. The seed fund’s partnership model calls on business accelerators and incubators across Canada to partner with SDTC and nominate startups that fit SDTC’s criteria. This enables a stronger connection between SDTC and the innovation ecosystems across Canada.

“As Canada and the world struggle with the economic and public health challenges of COVID-19, I am encouraged by the leading-edge innovation we are seeing in applications to the SDTC seed fund,” said Leah Lawrence, president and CEO of SDTC. “Canada can lead the world in finding the solutions that will enable us to build back better. The entrepreneurs we are funding through this program are leading the way.”

The fund provides between $50,000 and $100,000 of funding to identified eligible businesses. The second call for 2020-2021 funding will launch in the fall of 2020.

The seventeen cleantech startups represent the breadth and variety of Canadian businesses developing clean tech solutions. These small businesses range from developing technologies to power electric vehicles to inventing active compostable packaging. Here are the seventeen startups that received SDTC funding, along with their accelerator partner, by province:

Alberta

  • SeeO2 Energy (Calgary, AB), supported by Innovate Calgary, is constructing high temperature electrolyzers capable of converting CO2 and/or water into valuable fuels.
  • Summit Nanotech (Calgary, AB), supported by MaRS, is using nanotechnology to isolate lithium ions from solutions to provide sustainably sourced lithium to the electric vehicle sector.

British Columbia

  • Hydra Energy (Delta, BC), supported by Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre, is creating Hydrogen-as-a-Service technology and systems.
  • OneFeather Mobile (Victoria, BC), supported by Techtoria-ViaTech, is developing technology for streamlined digital voting, status card renewal, online banking, and other services for Indigenous people across Canada.

Quebec

  • Calogy Solutions (Sherbrooke, QC), supported by Ecofuel, is creating thermal management technology for Li-ion batteries.
  • Impactful Health Research & Development Inc. (Montreal, QC), supported by Innovacorp, is developing active compostable packaging to extend the shelf life of fresh foods, particularly fish.
  • OmniPly Technology (Montreal, QC), supported by TandemLaunch, is creating delamination technology to improve the efficiency of flexible electronics.
  • One Silicon Chip Photonics (Montreal, QC), supported by FounderFuel, builds chips used to navigate a moving object that are valuable in the autonomous vehicle market.
  • OPA Technologies (Montreal, QC), supported by Ecofuel, is developing user-friendly collaboration software using optimized geospatial data intelligence to better plan, coordinate, and communicate road closures and traffic detours.
  • Solid State of Mind (Montreal, QC), supported by Centech Montreal, is developing artificial intelligence capable of adapting to real-time changes in the environment reducing CO2 emissions.

Newfoundland

  • Milk Moovement (St. John’s, NL), supported by Genesis, develops cloud-based software to improve the efficiency of the dairy supply chain.

Nova Scotia

  • Phycus Biotechnologies (Sydney, NS), supported by Verschuren Centre, is making biobased, formaldehyde-free glycolic acid using synthetic biology which produces high-purity ingredients valued in the cosmetics market.
  • Reazent (Halifax, NS), supported by Verschuren Centre, makes efficient, high-efficacy organic replacements for agrochemicals.
  • ReelData (Halifax, NS), supported by Innovacorp, is developing artificial intelligence and computer vision software for aquaculture, which provides real time metrics to fish farms.

Ontario

  • Elocity (Toronto, ON), supported by Accelerator Centre, is developing data-based smart controls to aid electricity distribution companies in maintaining grid stability.
  • Evercloak (Kitchener, ON), supported by MaRS, is producing graphene-based nano-membranes for dehumidification that are 100 times thinner.
  • Flash Forest (Shelburne, ON), supported by Climate Ventures, is deploying drones for reforestation and aims to plant one billion trees by 2028.

Author: Rebecca Ro, 2020 Summer Student-at-law

Photo Credit: istock.com/KittisakJirasittichai

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