Impact Canada’s Charging the Future Challenge Finalists

July 21, 2020                                                                Ottawa, Ontario                                           Natural Resources Canada           

The Government of Canada remains committed to building a clean energy future to strengthen the economy, create good jobs and support the natural resource sectors. This commitment will be more important than ever as we prepare to reopen the economy and plan our recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced the five finalists of the $4.5-million Impact Canada Charging the Future Challenge aimed at accelerating battery innovations that have the potential to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Each of the finalists could receive up to $700,000 to develop their battery prototype. The winner with the most promising battery breakthrough will be awarded a grand prize of $1 million. 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. 
  

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. 

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.