Government invests $25M in Canadian cleantech start-ups

The Canadian government announced $24.8 million in funding, though Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), for nine small Canadian businesses developing clean technology. According to government numbers, the clean technology market is expected to exceed $2.5 trillion by 2022. In Canada, cleantech companies employ an estimated 195,000+ Canadians.

“Investments in clean technology help harness made-in-Canada sustainable solutions to accomplish two goals at once: create economic opportunities and reduce Canada’s environmental footprint,” said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “Companies like the ones we are investing in today reinforce Canada’s global leadership in cleantech and will bring us closer to net zero.”

Companies receiving SDTC funding include:

British Columbia
Pani Energy ($2.8 million) which is developing optimization tools for water treatment plants that aggregate and analyze data from different sources.

Motion Metrics International Corp. ($5.6 million) which is developing a machine learning and AI-based solution that enables real-time optimization of ore crushing/grinding circuits.

Alberta
Swirltex Inc.($1.4 million) treats wastewater through a novel process utilizing tubular, ultrafiltration membranes in combination with buoyancy manipulation of contaminants.

Modern Wellbore Solutions Ltd. ($3.4 million) which has developed a downhole multilateral junction for shale oil and gas producers that enables multiple lateral wells to be drilled and accessed from a single well pad, reducing drilling and the associated costs and emissions.

Hifi Engineering ($3.4 million) develops turnkey distributed fibre optic sensing systems, hardware and visualization software focused on downhole and pipe applications.

Manitoba
Farmers Edge Inc. ($1.3 million) delivers real-time risk management solutions for farmers, retailers and other agricultural stakeholders.

Ontario
Inmotive Inc. ($2.4 million) has developed a two-speed transmission, called the Ingear, to improve the powertrain efficiency of passenger electric vehicles.

Quebec
Soléco Énergie Inc. ($4 million) has developed a process for converting low-value, mixed plastic waste into diesel.

KSM Inc. ($500,000) plans to be the first company to produce high-end fertilizers (potassium sulphate and potassium and magnesium sulphate) in Canada made from two abundant Canadian feedstocks.