- Calgary Tech Journal
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- Calgary company secures early seed round
Calgary company secures early seed round
Plus, a Neo Financial investor gets blacklisted.
Welcome to this week's Sunday Briefing. In this issue, learn about how geothermal energy could support AI data centres. Plus, read three other stories you might’ve missed.
Have a great day. We'll see you again on Wednesday.
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🗳️ Question of the Week
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Funding for a Calgary company supporting the energy transition
Calgary’s Innova Cleantech announced its successful seed raise. Led by Weave VC, a Vancouver-based early-stage venture fund, the round also featured investment by angels from Creative Destruction Lab, including Calgary’s Douglas Beach, board chair at Eavor Technologies, and Roger Tang, former CEO and founder of Deltastream Energy.
Innova Cleantech is a climatech startup focused on creating a “pre-combustion carbon capture solution” that creates cleaner and lower-cost graphite and hydrogen.
For the science-minded among you, Innova describes the chemistry of its product:
Innova has developed a revolutionary technology that takes naturally abundant and inexpensive methane gas (CH4), and by applying heat and a catalyst, splits it into its constituent components of carbon (C) and hydrogen (2H2). The liberated carbon adheres to the catalyst in the form of graphite, leaving a hydrogen byproduct. Innova’s process uses no water or oxygen. It produces no CO2.
The graphite can be sold as a valuable raw material, or undergo further processing for a multitude of applications such as soil remediation, concrete, nuclear fuel, steel, and battery manufacturing.
The hydrogen byproduct, along with any unreacted methane, can be used or sold as a low-carbon fuel, or purified for use as an industrial feedstock or for clean power generation.
On LinkedIn, Weave VC general partner Mark Mitchell wrote that “critical minerals are the backbone of the clean energy transition” and expressed his excitement about working with Innova and its team.
In a Medium post, Weave explained that its investment is driven by the important role that graphite will play in the energy transition.
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🤝 Funding, Deals, and Partnerships
Healthquest acquisition signals another successful tech exit in Edmonton. The recent Wellstar acquisition of software company Healthquest follows in the footsteps of other local tech exits, including WinTax and Granify. These company exits are not a simple financial transaction but instead a move aimed to extend the company’s reach. Taproot Edmonton
📰 Need To Know
Neo Financial investor Tencent added to Pentagon blacklist for alleged Chinese military links. Digital payments companies, including Neo, will have to earn security clearance under Bank of Canada’s new regulatory regime. The Logic
Calgary company seeks to innovate home heating in Canada with hydrogen tech. Comprising roughly three-quarters of the universe’s baryonic mass, the most abundant element in the universe can provide energy without releasing carbon dioxide — granting hydrogen the potential to be a potent source of clean fuel. Calgary.Tech
AI’s thirst for clean energy is raising hopes in the long-forgotten geothermal sector. Alberta’s Eavor Technologies is among those expanding its ambitions: ‘We’re aiming at a bigger prize.’ The Logic
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