Author: Catherine Bérubé

Ottawa, Wednesday, March 22, 2017 – Cycle Capital Management, the most seasoned and active cleantech venture capital firm in Canada, welcomes the Government of Canada’s decision to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy with important clean technologies investments as part of the 2017 federal budget.

More specifically, because venture capital can foster a dynamic cleantech ecosystem in Canada, Cycle Capital welcomes the creation through Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) of a $400M fund, the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, to increase late-stage venture capital available to companies for their expansion. Cycle Capital also salutes the decision to double investments in clean technologies over the next five years with $1.4B in new financing through BDC and Export Development Canada (EDC) to help clean technology firms grow and expand. These organizations will offer a combined additional $380M in equity financing to support clean technology firms looking to scale, $570M in working capital to support established cleantech companies and $450M in additional project finance for high-capital-intensive early stage clean technology companies. The 2017 federal budget also announces the recapitalization of Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) SD Tech Fund with $400M in new investments over 5 years.

Venture capital (VC) is one of the key component of clean technology development and Canada has been lagging behind its competitors on this front over the last decade. These investments will play an important role in reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and also establishing a low-carbon economy in Canada by fostering innovation and growth in cleantech sector, as stated in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. Cycle Capital’s current and future portfolio companies will directly benefit from these investments.

“With these substantial investments, the Government of Canada shows vision and demonstrates its true willingness to build a greener economy in Canada by accelerating the development of cleantech innovations and the creation of competitive Canadian companies able to play a role on the global scene,” says Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing Partner at Cycle Capital Management.

$20B over 11 years will also be invested to support public transit projects and $22B over 11 years to support green infrastructures. “Investments in clean technologies and in public transit are all example of how this budget will foster a cleantech innovation economy and accelerate Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy,” adds Andrée-Lise Méthot.

The study titled Forging a Cleaner and More Innovative Economy in Canada released in December by Cycle Capital and SDTC showed that whereas Canada was leading when it comes to research, Canada failed to compete in commercializing that research into market-ready technologies. It also revealed that Canada lagged behind the United States on a per capita basis in both venture capital and debt financing, both critical components in helping companies innovate, scale up their operations and commercialize their technologies.

To access the full study please visit https://cyclecapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/CCM-SDTC_Forging-a-cleaner-economy_FINAL.pdf.

About Cycle Capital Management

Cycle Capital Management is the most active cleantech VC in Canada. Cycle Capital invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle.

With assets under management of $231M, Cycle Capital invests in Quebec and North America. Cycle Capital Management, based in Montreal with an office in Toronto and points of presence in New York, Seattle and Qingdao in China, regroups seasoned investment professionals, strategic advisors and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital Management has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Group M3, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec. For more information on Cycle Capital Management visit: www.cyclecapital.com .

Catherine Bérubé
Head of communications and public relations
[email protected]
+1 514 629-1022

Bécancour, Monday, February 27th, 2017 – Cycle Capital Management, Desjardins-Innovatech and other investors such as TechnoClimat and Sustainable Development Technology Canada invested more than $10M in Airex Energy. This investment will expand the commercialization of the CarbonFX™, a technology that converts biomass into biocoal, and finance the new plant operations, which will showcase the company’s biomass torrefaction technology.

“In the context of global warming, energy producers are now coping with new challenges with the adoption of environmental constraints. As such, Airex Energy’s technology is a promising solution which makes the company an indispensable player on a wide variety of markets in North America and overseas,” says Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and Managing Partner at Cycle Capital Management.

“We are very proud to be an actor in the international deployment of a technology that was developed in Quebec and which will help reduce the carbon footprint of thermal power plants worldwide,” says Luc Ménard, Chief Operating Officer of Desjardins Business Capital régional et coopératif.

“The commercialization of a new technology is a critical step for a company like Airex Energy. Supported by our partners, we will able to deploy our technology and stimulate exports worldwide,” adds Sylvain Bertrand, CEO of Airex Energy.

About Airex Energy
Airex Energy is a spin-off from Airex Industries, which specializes in the manufacturing of industrial air-treatment systems which has been established in Laval and Drummondville, Quebec for over 30 years. Airex Energy is a technology company that develops and markets biomass torrefaction systems. The CarbonFX™ patented technology converts any type of biomass into biocoal, a clean and renewable alternative to coal.

About Cycle Capital Management
A pioneer among Canadian venture capital funds focused on the clean-tech sector, Cycle Capital Management invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle.
With assets under management of $230M, Cycle Capital Management, invests in Quebec and North America. Cycle Capital Management, based in Montreal with an office in Toronto and points of presence in New York, Seattle and Qingdao in China, regroups seasoned investment professionals, strategic advisors and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital Management has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Group M3, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec. For more information on Cycle Capital Management visit: www.cyclecapital.com .

About Desjardins-Innovatech L.P.
Desjardins-Innovatech investment fund’s mission is to provide and support Quebec technological or industrial technological companies while striving to preserve ownership of Quebec-based enterprise and to create flagship companies. The Fund – managed by Desjardins Entreprises Capital régional et coopératif, a subsidiary of Mouvement Desjardins – was created in 2005 by the Government of Quebec and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins. The Fund is partnering with technological stakeholders – specialized investment funds, entrepreneurs, angel investors and technological accelerators – to contribute to the development of promising SMEs. (www.desjardins-innovatech.com)

Information
Catherine Bérubé
[email protected]
514-629-1022

Closing of a $19M round for the Vancouver-based cleantech and smart mining company

Montreal, February 13^th, 2017 – Cycle Capital Management, Canada’s leading cleantech venture capital platform, is proud to be part of this most recent $19M round of financing in MineSense Technologies. Aurus Ventures and Caterpillar Ventures, leading strategic investors in the mining industry, pair up with existing investors Cycle Capital Management, Chrysalix, Prelude and EDC to finance the growth of MineSense.

“Attracting new investors to the investors’ syndicate is part of our strategy developed with MineSense, to have major ore extraction and energy players sharing deep knowledge of the mining industry. This partnership with a leading mining operator and the leading global transport and equipment manufacturer will bring international exposure to this disruptive technology, and help accelerate commercialization in new markets,” said Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and managing partner of Cycle Capital Management. “The mining industry is an important sector where clean technologies can truly change the rules. At Cycle Capital Management, we are convinced that technologies such as those developed by MineSense can not only improve the bottom line and profitability of ore sorting, but can also have a sustainable impact on the environmental footprint of the mining sector.”

“Since its investment, Cycle Capital Management has been a key partner for MineSense. This tight association has provided us strong support to develop new strategies and reach targeted milestones which resulted in attracting new mining and industrial leaders on board”, said Jeff More, CEO of MineSense.

The MineSense system integrates directly into existing mining shovels and conveyers to provide real-time information that enables ore sorting and enhances mine planning. Through recent field trials, MineSense has demonstrated that its technology platform can improve the bottom line at a single mine by a factor of $20 to $200M annually.

About Cycle Capital Management
A pioneer among Canadian venture capital funds focused on the clean-tech sector, Cycle Capital Management invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle.

With assets under management of $230M, Cycle Capital Management, invests in Quebec and North America. Cycle Capital Management, based in Montreal with an office in Toronto and presence in New York, Seattle and Qingdao in China, regroups seasoned investment professionals, strategic advisors and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital Management has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Group M3, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec. For more information on Cycle Capital Management visit: www.cyclecapital.com

Information:
Catherine Bérubé
Head of Communications and Public Relations
[email protected]
+1 514 629-1022

Enerkem Inc. (Enerkem), a waste-to-biofuels and chemicals producer, announced today it has raised C$152.6 million and has initiated the production of biomethanol from non-recyclable household garbage at the Enerkem Alberta Biofuels full-scale facility in Edmonton, Canada.

“I must say a huge thank you to our financial partners, employees, as well as the City of Edmonton and Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions who believed in us and have accompanied us while we were reaching this pivotal operational milestone,” said Vincent Chornet, president and chief executive officer of Enerkem. “We are about to fundamentally transform the waste industry over the coming years and allow energy and chemical groups access to a new and competitive source of renewable carbon.”

The financings are comprised of a recently accessed C$29 million debt facility from Integrated Asset Management Corp.’s (IAM) Private Debt Group as well as C$50 million in private placements from current investors and C$73.6 million of debt from two other lenders, closed over the past year. This funding will be used for the product expansion of the Edmonton facility and the company’s global growth.

About Enerkem

Enerkem makes biofuels and renewable chemicals from waste. With its proprietary technology, Enerkem converts non-recyclable municipal solid waste into methanol, ethanol and other widely used chemical intermediates. Headquartered in Canada, Enerkem owns a full-scale commercial facility in Alberta as well as a demonstration plant and a pilot facility in Quebec. The company is developing additional biorefineries in North America and globally, based on its modular manufacturing approach. Enerkem’s technology and facilities help diversify the energy mix and make everyday products greener while offering a sustainable alternative to landfilling and incineration.

www.enerkem.com

About IAM

Integrated Asset Management Corp. (TSX:IAM) is one of Canada’s leading alternative asset management companies, with assets and committed capital under management in private corporate debt, real estate and managed futures. IAM’s Private Debt Group is Canada’s largest independent provider of investment grade, senior private debt.

Media Contact:

Marie-Hélène Labrie, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications, Enerkem Inc.
[email protected]
T : +1 514 875-0284, x. 231

Inocucor Technologies Inc., the agriculture biotech company that produces sustainable biological accelerators for farmers, has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its patent application to protect Inocucor consortia and unique microbial products that accelerate plant growth and enhance yields on farms and in greenhouses.

This initial patent relates to Inocucor’s live IN-M1 microbial consortium and its fermentation byproducts, which are the basis of the formulation for Inocucor Garden Solution™, the company’s first-generation growth-accelerator product. Garden Solution is formulated to naturally sustain robust plant growth, increase plant vigor and actively build a friable and rich soil, improving the health of the entire phyto-microbiome.

The patent applies to each of the individual Inocul-M™ microorganisms characterized by Inocucor and in other task-specific live consortia like IN-M1. Also protected are the biological ingredients produced during Inocucor’s multi-species manufacturing process.

“Inocucor pioneered this proprietary fermentation process that combines natural bacteria and yeasts into powerful living growth stimulants for soil, seeds and plants,” said Dr. Margaret Bywater-Ekegärd, co-founder and executive vice president of technology and innovation at Inocucor. “It is the first of numerous patents we expect to be granted for our unique approach to processes and products for bio-stimulation, bio-fertility and bio-protection.”

Inocucor’s protection extends to the delivery of these compositions to any plant part, above or below ground, anywhere a plant grows—in a farm field or in a greenhouse–including seeds and fruit. Protection covers all types of growing systems, including vertical farming, aeroponic and hydroponic systems. This means that Inocucor’s Garden Solution is now available as a proprietary technology for the protection of natural ingredient production, whether it be for cultivation of specialty food crops and high-value produce or in formulations together with plant nutrients.

Based in Montreal, Inocucor produces sustainable bio-based products that improve crop yields, shorten growing periods and create healthier, more resilient soils for organic farmers, greenhouse growers and mainstream production farmers. Its core technology was developed in 2007 by Dr. Bywater–Ekegärd and Ananda Lynn Fitzsimmons, who believed that microbial, rather than chemical, solutions would be needed to help farmers feed a growing world population.

Inocucor recently opened a new headquarters and lab in Montreal’s bioscience corridor that is compliant with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) for the food industry. It has attracted collaborators from both the private and academic sectors in Canada and the U.S.

Inocucor has received two rounds of venture capital from Cycle Capital Management, a respected Canadian venture capital firm focused on the clean-tech sector. In early February 2015, Inocucor closed an interim round of financing from Cycle Capital Management with participation from Desjardins-Innovatech, the venture capital unit of one of North America’s leading financial institutions, and most recently with two US-based family offices.

The company recently launched its Series B equity financing, on the order of $15 million, and expects its completion during the second half of 2015.

About Inocucor Technologies Inc.

Inocucor Technologies Inc., based in Montreal, is an ag biotech company that develops sustainable biological products for agriculture targeting the phyto-microbiome—the seeds, plants, root systems and the soil surrounding them. Inocucor’s first-generation product, Garden Solution™, employs live microbes to actively improve the health of the entire phyto-microbiome. Future generations of Inocucor products are powerful cell-free biological solutions for bio-stimulation and bio-protection in mainstream production agriculture. For more information, visit

www.inocucor.com

Media Contact:

Michele Wells
[email protected]
T : 303-417-0696
Website

With over six billion tonnes of rock moved annually and mining companies spending over $100 billion on capital expenditures and over $150 billion on energy, MineSense’s pre-concentration solution specifically addresses resource- intensive mining and milling operations ensuring the “right” material gets to the “right” destination.

According to new investor, Annie Theriault of Export Development Canada, “We are proud to have secured an investment in a Canadian technology company with the potential to optimize mining operations and realize tremendous energy savings at the industry level. Mining is crucial to the Canadian economy and MineSense has developed a technology that has the potential to bring fundamental change to a sector in need of innovation.”

“MineSense’s technology makes it possible to generate profits from what is actually considered ‘waste’ in the mining industry. With a more efficient sorting solution, mining companies realize energy savings, maximize metal recovery, and reduce the impact of ore extraction on the environment while increasing their margins – a major driver in this industry. For all those reasons Cycle Capital is proud to be a new partner”, said Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing Partner at Cycle Capital.

Adds MineSense CEO & Founder, Andrew Bamber, “Since our Series A funding in spring 2013, we have made significant progress against pre-set milestones including critical product development and market de-risking. For example, we advanced and deployed our ShovelSense and SortOre products into customer-funded field trials in Canada and South America, and we were able to verify our cost and revenue-related claims in the process. This outside validation combined with our ability to harness the ‘Industrial Internet’ and ‘Big Data’ technologies has attracted a Series B syndicate of strategic investors we look forward to working alongside as we move towards product commercialization in 2016. In the nearer term, we’re looking to expand customer field trials beyond this first essential partnership.”

To learn more about the MineSense Solution or to enquire about a field trial, please email [email protected] or call +1 604 987 9999.

_____

About MineSense Technologies

MineSense is a pioneer in real-time, sensor-based bulk ore sorting solutions for large-scale, low-grade base and precious metal mines. The Company’s fast, scalable, and robust mineral sensing platform integrates with shovel and belt-based material handling equipment to provide precise, accurate, real-time grade control and ore routing decisions at the point of extraction for maximum resource conversion and metal recovery. By optimizing current practices this way, MineSense now makes the mining of low-grade ores economically viable while improving a mining company’s bottom line and overall sustainability. For more information, please visit www.minesense.com.

Media Contact:

Kristina Lee

Magnolia Marketing Communications (778) 999-8562

[email protected]

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GaN Systems showcases customers’ products – real now and at PCIM Europe
A new era in power efficiency arrives: GaN Systems showcases customer products for first time at PCIM Europe

Real products harness benefits of gallium nitride Island Technology® for industrial-scale, high frequency, high efficiency power conversion

GaN Systems Inc., a leading developer of gallium nitride power switching semiconductors, is showcasing three customer applications incorporating its Island Technology® devices for the first time on its stand at PCIM Europe. The customer products being displayed are finished production items, not prototypes. Each has been designed by the customer to bring the unique benefits offered by GaN Systems’ broad product range of small highly-efficient, industrial-scale power switching transistors to its particular market.

DRS Technologies, a supplier of integrated products, services and support to the military and prime contractors, has designed a 2kW vehicle power inverter using GaN Systems’ GS66508P, 650V E-HEMT power switch. The vehicle power inverter achieves an impressive 92% efficiency, thanks to the advantages brought by the GS66508P’s ultra low FOM Island Technology® die in its low inductance, proprietary GaNPX™ packaging. As well as dramatically improving energy efficiency, the use of GaN Systems’ technology has reduced the inverter’s part count.

Virideon BlueSky Mast designs and builds advanced multi-purpose, portable mast platforms for military communications and surveillance. The company has designed and produced a 2KWh tactical power package using GaN Systems’ GS61008P 100V E-HEMT transistor that offers 40A continuous discharge and has 89Ah capacity.

LS Industrial Systems is a leading Korean company focussed on delivering safe clean energy. On GaN Systems’ stand, PCIM visitors can see its SISPM Power Module designed around GaN Systems’ 650V 30A full bridge GS66508P.
“These three products are among thousands of innovative applications currently being readied for launch by our global customer base. “ comments Girvan Patterson, President, GaN Systems. “Our broad range of Island Technology power switching devices and our core IPs make GaN Systems’ devices easy for designers to work with, enabling leading companies around the world to harness the power of GaN and bring its benefits to industrial and consumer products ranging from solar inverters to ultra-slim TVs. GaN is real and right now and here’s the proof.”

GaN Systems is the first company to have developed and brought a comprehensive product range of devices with current ratings from 8A to 250A to the global market – its Island Technology® die design, combined with its extremely low inductance and thermally efficient GaNPX™ packaging and Drive Assist technology means the company’s GaN transistors offer a 40-fold improvement in switching and conduction performance over traditional silicon MOSFETs and IGBTs. Devices are available now through its worldwide distribution network.

About GaN Systems
GaN Systems is a fabless semiconductor company that is the first place systems designers go to realize all the benefits of gallium nitride in their power conversion and control applications. To overcome silicon’s limitations in switching speed, temperature, voltage and current, the company developed the most complete range of gallium nitride power switching transistors for a wide variety of markets. GaN Systems’ unique Island Technology® addresses today’s challenges of cost, performance, and manufacturability resulting in devices that are smaller and more efficient than other GaN design approaches. The company is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. For more information, please visit: www.gansystems.com