Thirteen Canadian companies are listed on the Global Cleantech 100 list for 2024, which features up-and-coming sustainability focused companies making a difference in sectors ranging from critical minerals to maximizing efficiency in water infrastructure.

It is the 15th edition of the list compiled by Cleantech Group, a San Francisco-based market analysis firm.

Returning Canadian companies from the 2023 list are: Eavor Technologies Inc., e-Zinc, Ionomr Innovations Inc., Carbon Upcycling Technologies, Moment Energy, Pani, Mangrove Lithium and Svante Inc.

Companies new or returning to the list from a previous placement in 2024 are: Genecis Bioindustries, pH7 Technologies Inc., Cyclic Materials, MineSense Technologies Ltd. and Summit Nanotech.

Batteries and critical minerals make up a significant portion of the 2024 list, with seven companies under the umbrella, a trend highlighted by Cleantech Group.

“That we have reached this scaling manufacturing phase explains why there are so many companies in the 2024 cohort representing critical minerals and how to obtain them,” Richard Youngman, CEO of Cleantech Group, said in the report.

Critical minerals and batteries

Toronto-based e-Zinc is the developer of a recyclable zinc-based battery system. It could potentially be commercialized for use in microgrids and as a replacement for back-up power, and integrated with renewable energy generation.

Mangrove Lithium, based in Vancouver, converts lithium chloride and lithium sulfate from brine and waste gas into battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The process is intended to operate at a low cost.

pH7 Technologies is behind a “closed-loop process for extraction of critical metals and minerals.” Based in Vancouver, the company won the research and development award from Clean50 in 2023.

Calgary-based Summit Nanotech is the developer of a brine evaporation system for lithium which it claims is quicker and uses less water and energy compared to traditional evaporation techniques. The company raised $67 million in January 2023 from Evok Innovations and the Business Development Bank of Canada Capital’s Climate Tech Fund.

Cyclic Materials, headquartered in Kingston, Ont., hopes to support electrification and decarbonization through its proprietary rare earth elements recycling process for metals such as copper, aluminum, steel, cobalt and nickel. The company opened its Kingston pilot plant in December 2023.

Digital mining solutions provider MineSense Technologies offers tools to more precisely identify ores from waste in mines. The Vancouver-based firm says it supports sustainable mining by reducing mining waste and optimizing extraction of critical minerals such as copper and nickel.

Moment Energy looks to repurpose end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries into battery energy storage systems. The Coquitlam-based company works with Nissan North America to find a second life for EV batteries.

Waste management and efficiency companies

With its software that refines the efficiency of water treatment plants and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, Victoria-based Pani is working to minimize water waste and the climate impact of water infrastructure.

Genecis Bioindustries engineers single-use bioplastics from food waste. The company is the first of its kind to receive funding from Amazon’s US$2-billion Climate Pledge Fund.

Ionomr Innovations, based in Vancouver, is the developer of an ion exchange membrane technology that has applications in metals recovery and hydrogen fuel generation.

Carbon capture and sequestration

Svante, a major carbon capture company based in Burnaby, develops solid state sorbents that filter carbon dioxide out of the flue gas from gas-fired power plants. It raised US$318 million in December 2022.

Carbon Upcycling, a Calgary-based company, made the list for its all-electric carbon mineralization solution that stores carbon dioxide in industrial by-products and minerals. The end product can be converted into alternative materials for cement, plastics, consumer products, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

Clean energy

The only Canadian geothermal energy company on the list, Eavor Technologies is the developer of a geothermal energy technology called Eavor-Loop. The closed loop system offers clean energy with no greenhouse gas emissions or fracking, the company states. Its first project is being built in Geretsried, Germany.