For months, Impact Canada has been working hard on narrowing down five finalists to work on the Charging the Future Challenge, a $4.5-million project aimed at accelerating made-in-Canada clean battery innovations with the potential to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The five selected finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas for battery breakthroughs to a jury for a chance to win up to $700,000 each to develop battery prototypes over the course of 18-months, with the winner receiving a $1 million grand prize.
Five finalists announced
Today, in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian government remains more committed than ever to carry forward their mission to build a clean energy future in order to strengthen the economy, create jobs, and support the natural resource sectors. It is with great pleasure that the five finalists are announced.
The finalists are:
- Agora Energy Technologies Ltd., from Vancouver, BC: to develop a long-duration, non-metal battery technology that repurposes CO2 to store and generate clean electricity.
- Calogy Solutions, from Sherbrooke, QC: to develop a high-performance thermal management technology that will improve the performance of electric vehicle batteries in cold-weather conditions.
- e-Zinc, from Toronto, ON: to develop a low-cost, long-lasting, zinc-based energy storage solution that is fire-resistant and easily recyclable.
- G-Batteries, from Ottawa, ON: to revolutionize a key manufacturing step that will significantly reduce costs and improve the performance of electric vehicle batteries and other lithium-ion batteries.
- Salient Energy, from Dartmouth, NS: to develop a manufacturing-ready zinc-ion battery that is cheaper, safer, and longer-lasting than lithium-ion batteries for energy storage applications.
Batteries: A growing industry
Today’s $23-billion global battery industry is expected to grow to more than $90 billion over the next decade, providing a major economic opportunity for Canada across the battery value chain. Central to this growth is the increase in the number of electric vehicles, which are expected to exceed 130 million by 2030, as well as the growing use of storage technology to integrate renewable energy sources into the grid.
Charging the Future Challenge: One of six cleantech challenges
The Charging the Future Challenge is one of six cleantech challenges that are part of the Impact Canada initiative. The challenges were designed to attract a diverse range of problem solvers to generate breakthrough cleantech outcomes. Natural Resources Canada is investing $75 million over four years in several challenges, including Women in Cleantech, The Sky’s the Limit, Power Forward, Crush It!, Indigenous Off-diesel Initiative and Charging the Future.
What everyone’s saying
“These finalists exemplify Canadian technological ingenuity. As the Government of Canada’s champion for Impact Canada, I am proud of the inventive work that we are doing here in Canada that will have a real impact on our economy and the environment.”
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada
“With growing global demand for batteries, the Charging the Future Challenge provides an opportunity to showcase Canadian potential and unlock innovative solutions. I’m proud to announce our finalists who are paving the way to revolutionize the battery industry while supporting a clean energy transition.”
The Honourable Seamus O’Regan
Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources
“As one of the Charging the Future Challenge collaborators, Propulsion Québec is proud to see innovative and promising companies working on new technologies that will benefit the whole battery value chain across Canada. Such innovations will allow us to speed up the electrification of our economy and will certainly help us fight climate change.”
Sarah Houde
CEO, Propulsion Québec
“InnovÉE was a partner from the start and has enthusiastically supported the Charging the Future challenge launched by Natural Resources Canada, since we consider the battery technology sector to be a highly strategic industry for Quebec and Canada as a whole. This challenge is therefore perfectly in line with our mission, which is to support and finance collaborative projects related to the electrical industry, smart grids, transportation electrification, smart vehicles and transportation systems by sharing the expertise and resources of industrial partners and research facilities. We are currently financing several other projects related to this promising sector.”
André St-Pierre, Director General
InnovÉÉ – Innovation in electrical energy
Contact information
Natural Resources Canada
Media Relations
343-292-6100
NRCan.media.RNCan@canada.ca
Ian Cameron
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Natural Resources
343-292-6837
Ian.Cameron@canada.ca
Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan)
