CTC #29 - What's in store for 2023, carbon storage in Alberta, and an all-Canadian concept EV

Plus - Fresh funds for commercial EVs, Canada's EV sales mandate, and top jobs

Jan 12, 2023

Hey there,

I hope you had a great holiday and a chance to recharge because 2023 is gearing up to be another exciting year for building and deploying climate solutions!

Here are three things we’re looking forward to this year:

🚀 Tipping Points

2023 may be the year where some regulations and government support start to snowball.

Canada’s single-use plastic ban is now in effect, and while businesses may still be working through old stock, get ready to see the transition to biodegradable alternatives begin. The change sends a clear signal to the market about the future of single-use plastics, and will be very visible to everyday consumers.

The federal government also introduced their first set of climate incentives in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. These incentives include tax credits for clean energy investments and a new $15B fund focused on de-risking climate tech investments and getting new technologies to scale. We’ll likely see these incentives start getting deployed this year, as well as a second round of policies in the spring budget 🤞

🏃 Talent

Last year we started to see a concerted drive to help top talent move into climate. Organizations like Climate Draft and Climatebase helped folks impacted by tech layoffs, and more people are looking to make the switch on their own. Bloomberg is calling them the “climate quitters”. Legislation to support a just transition for oil & gas workers is also expected to come out this year, helping more people switch into sustainable work.

You may be planning to make the switch yourself this year, or maybe you’re looking to enlist more of your network. Because building lasting solutions to solve climate change isn’t just about raising money, it's also about getting the best people from across industries to work on these solutions and get them to scale.

We started including hand-picked job postings in the newsletter earlier in 2022, and I’m excited to do more this year to support great people making the switch!

🧪 Experiment

On a personal note, I’m looking forward to trying more new things with Climate Tech Canada this year and growing the community. There are a few things we have cooking already, but if there’s something you’d like to see more of this year or that you feel is missing, feel free to give me a shout!

Funding

Lion Electric (Saint-Jérôme, QC) secured $68M in a public offering to fuel growth and expansion plans. Lion Electric produces electric commercial vehicles, including school buses and commercial trucks.

Milestones & Growth

Cyclic Materials secured a partnership with Swedish EV manufacturer Polestar to recycle rare earth elements from Polestar’s motors into new magnets for future vehicles.

Sustainable delivery startup GoBolt laid off 5% of its 1,000 person workforce, citing a need to focus spending on areas of its business with the strongest return on investment.

Bio Graphene Solutions launched its new graphene add-in to reduce the amount of cement in concrete, one of the main contributors to concrete’s carbon footprint.

Micro-mobility provider Bird Canada is merging with Miami-based Bird Global to bail out its international counterpart to the tune of $32M. Bird Canada operates on Bird Global’s platform, but is independently owned.

Here & There

Canadian auto parts manufacturers put their skills on display at CES 2023 with the unveiling of Project Arrow - an all-Canadian concept car based on a 3D-printed chassis
E3 Lithium is turning Alberta’s brine into critical minerals for the EV supply chain
CleanTech North’s Bryan Watson weighs in on what the new climate tech tax credits mean for the industry
A Nova Scotia lab is trying to unlock hydrogen’s potential by solving one of nature’s hardest problems - photosynthesis
Check out Carbon Hunters, a new podcast showcasing Canada’s climate entrepreneurs

In the news

Canada’s plan for a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate is here. The draft regulations set sales quotas for ZEVs at 20% in 2026, 60% in 2030, and 100% in 2035. ZEVs made up 9.4% of new sales in Q3 of 2022, up from an average of 3.6% in 2020.

Alberta may be the home of a new carbon capture and storage hub. Proposed by some of Canada’s largest oil & gas producers, the project was approved by the Alberta government to start assessing underground storage sites. Financial support for the project has been contentious, with Trudeau urging the province to use its budget surplus to offer additional tax credits.

The same group of producers, represented as Pathways Alliance, also said that the industry won’t be able to meet federal emissions-reduction targets until 2035 instead of 2030. The carbon capture hub is a key part of the current plan.

Elsewhere in Alberta, some municipalities want to see renewable energy projects be subject to bonds that will cover cleanup costs, including disposal of solar panels and wind turbines.

Nova Scotia introduced new regulations for the province’s growing green hydrogen industry, providing greater certainty for new ventures.

Toronto Parking Authority launched its own EV charging network. The municipally-owned parking operator will have 117 chargers online in the next few weeks, with more than 650 planned by 2050. The new chargers will also incorporate electric bike share options.

Ontario’s tech ecosystem will receive $19M from the provincial government to support EV development and manufacturing.

Forestry-certifier Sustainable Forestry Initiative is facing scrutiny for its sustainability claims after Ecojustice and eight other organizations filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau.

What’s going on

💡Energia Ventures: The University of New Brunswick accelerator is seeking applicants in energy, smart grids, and cleantech for its three month program. Applications are open now.

💡Early Stage Commercialization Fund: Focused on helping commercialize research, the program will help researchers assess market potential, create prototypes, and develop go-to-market strategies. The fund includes a Low-Carbon Commercialization stream for the first time this year. Applications close Feb 13th.

📅 Climate Change AI Summer School 2023: The week-long program will bring together participants from various disciplines to work on projects at the intersection of climate change and AI. The summer school has both a virtual offering and an in-person event in Montreal, QC. Applications for the in-person event close Jan 31st.

📅A Conversation with Global Innovation Expert Dan Breznitz: This fireside chat will focus on Canada’s innovation sector and the leadership required by government and companies to find sustainable solutions. Dan Breznitz is the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies and the Co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab.