Clean50’s Clean Tech Nominees for 2024 – Part 2 of 8
This week featuring Club Coffee L.P., EarthSoft Canada, Electro Carbon, Electrovaya, Carbon Upcycling, and EnviCore.
Each year the Clean50 Awards attract more worthy nominees than we can possibly include on our list when we release it each fall (this year September 28th), and that’s an incredible shame – because this year we have 60 incredible nominees in the Cleantech and R&D categories alone. It’s great to know that clean tech innovation is alive and well in this country!
But innovation is not enough: Organizations and individual Canadians need to make the conscious choice to support made-in-Canada innovation – and buy Canadian wherever and whenever they can. Because here’s the thing: the incredible sums of money Joe Biden has invested in US based clean tech and the tax advantages he has conferred on clean tech investors means that US based clean tech companies are rich with cash – and they can afford to buy up Canadian competitors, and then take the intellectual property – and the jobs – and the revenues – to the USA. So we’re trying to do our part and show you 60 companies doing amazing stuff – and we hope you’ll do your part – and BUY some of it!
As we go through this process, we’ve been amazed at where some of our clean tech innovation is coming from: It’s not just start ups and university labs. We’re featuring lots of those, for sure – but also a company capturing kelp from the seabed – turning it into compostable plastic, and another recycling abandoned plastic fishing nets into brand new plastic, and a coffee company who have invented a… well you’ll find out – if you keep reading!
We promise – each of the 8 articles in this series will open your mind to some seriously cool possibilities! Congratulations to all of our nominees!
Club Coffee L.P.
Clean 50 Nominee John Pigott, CEO
Toronto, ON
What does the product do? Consumers want less packaging waste and fewer greenhouse gas emissions from their food packaging. Club Coffee part of ofi (olam food ingredients), has created a clean tech solution that is delivering both. The new AromaPak™ featuring Boardio® technology is a recyclable paper-based packaging. It is already replacing the traditional multilayer plastic coffee bags that are virtually never recyclable or recycled – and the metal, composite and plastic cans that have their own recycling and GHG challenges. And that’s just the start. AromaPak™ is now able to give other foods the same packaging advantages.
Who should buy it? Consumers seeking to make sustainable choices in packaging that delivers a great coffee experience while reducing their plastic and carbon footprint.
Electro Carbon
Clean50 nominee Martin Larocque, CEO
Quebec
What does the product do? Electro Carbon’s award winning, novel, and patent pending technology uses an electrochemical process to convert CO2 into Potassium Formate – a high-value-specialty chemical (also called KFo), providing a sustainable alternative to harmful chemicals widely used in industrial processes globally, produced via CO2 emitting, petrol-based conventional methods and presently mainly imported from Asia and/or the Middle East.
Who should buy it? KFo is used in a wide variety of industrial applications, including by airports as an ecofriendly and non-corrosive de-icer for their airstrips. Other use cases include as a heat transfer fluid as well as in the mining and the agricultural industries.
Electrovaya
Clean50 nominee Raj Dasgupta, CEO
Mississauga, ON
What does the product do? An Electrovaya battery provides a unique solution for heavy duty electrification. This is due to a unique combination of safety and longevity. Given this patented competitive advantage, the vast majority of applications for Electrovaya stem from heavy duty and safety sensitive vehicle and energy storage applications. Our solutions operate often 22-24 hours a day with multiple cycles being common. As a result, an Electrovaya battery has outsized impact for GHG emission reductions compared to typical batteries used in electric vehicles.
Who should buy it? Heavy duty applications including warehousing, automation, and transit. Over 10 Fortune100 companies currently utilize our products in their operations.
Envicore Inc.
Clean50 nominee Shahrukh Shamim, CEO
Calgary, AB
What does the product do? Our patent-pending process converts a wide range of waste mineral feedstocks such as inert aggregates, mine tailings, low reactive pozzolans, slags, clays, etc. into reactive cementitious materials to be used as a viable cement replacement of up to 30% in a concrete mix without compromising the early strength. Our process reduces operating and capital expenditures while offering locally sourced materials to the construction sector with a reduced carbon footprint up to 85%.
Who should buy it? Cement manufacturers, precast and ready mix concrete producers, mining and concrete recycling companies, and anyone with a surplus of waste minerals.
Carbon Upcycling
Clean50 nominee Apoorv Sinha, CEO
Calgary, AB
What does the product do? Carbon Upcycling delivers technology to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. Our CUT-Reactor technology sequesters CO2 and upcycles industrial byproducts and minerals into replacements for carbon-intensive materials in cement and concrete. Our technology enables circularity and provides a solid waste solution to hard-to-abate sectors like steel, mining, and energy – diverting their low-grade wastes from landfills and transforming them into cement replacements.
Who should buy it? Our CUT-Reactor technology is for industrial sectors looking for a practical, immediately-deployable solution to achieve their decarbonization targets.
EarthSoft Canada
Clean50 nominee Nivedita Pande, Development Manager
Toronto, ON
What does the product do? EQuIS is an advanced environmental and geotechnical data management system used by industries, government agencies, and global consultants in 60+ countries. By implementing EQuIS, clients have reported a 35% reduction in long-term information management costs and 25-30% less consultant project time. It streamlines the collection, analysis and reporting of data, enhancing efficiency and compliance, ultimately contributing to sustainability.
Who should buy it? Target customers include sectors like oil & gas, mining, laboratories, and governmental bodies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). EQuIS is designed for organizations seeking to make data-driven decisions, reduce costs, and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment.
