Energy

For founders developing transformational technologies for the energy industry.

  • All Ventures
  • CDL-Rockies

Ammobia

Ammobia is developing a modular technology for producing clean ammonia from hydrogen and air at 10x lower pressure than conventional methods, significantly reducing CAPEX by 3x. This process cuts carbon emissions by 80-95% and lowers production costs by around 30%. By enabling local ammonia production across scales, Ammobia reduces transportation costs, offering distributed industries like agriculture, mining, and chemicals more affordable and reliable ammonia.

ammobia.co

CDL Mentor Endorsement

“Ammobia is developing an ingenious reactor that produces ammonia — the world’s most important commodity chemical – at lower cost than the incumbent technology. I am interested in any venture bold enough to disrupt such venerable manufacturing processes. When the venture has a strong team and a solid technology, my interest turns into excitement. Ammobia is one of a new generation of ventures with a realistic shot at re-inventing industrial chemistry.”
– Steven Bryant, Research Chair in Materials Engineering, University of Calgary

Ammobia

Ammobia is developing a modular technology for producing clean ammonia from hydrogen and air at 10x lower pressure than conventional methods, significantly reducing CAPEX by 3x. This process cuts carbon emissions by 80-95% and lowers production costs by around 30%. By enabling local ammonia production across scales, Ammobia reduces transportation costs, offering distributed industries like agriculture, mining, and chemicals more affordable and reliable ammonia.

ammobia.co

CDL Mentor Endorsement
Ammobia is developing an ingenious reactor that produces ammonia -- the world’s most important commodity chemical – at lower cost than the incumbent technology. I am interested in any venture bold enough to disrupt such venerable manufacturing processes. When the venture has a strong team and a solid technology, my interest turns into excitement. Ammobia is one of a new generation of ventures with a realistic shot at re-inventing industrial chemistry. - Steven Bryant, Research Chair in Materials Engineering, University of Calgary

Oxylus Energy

Oxylus Energy developed a modular electrolyzer which converts CO2 and water into green e-methanol using electricity through a unique electrochemical process. Their proprietary catalyst enables a low-temperature, low-pressure conversion that is 2-3x more efficient and reduces production costs by 60%. This makes green methanol a viable and cost-effective alternative to fossil-derived fuels and chemical feedstocks.

oxylusenergy.com

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"The Oxylus team impressed me from our very first interaction. They work well together and with mentors. They provided excellent visibility on their technology, challenges faced and plans for the development of an organization capable of establishing a breakthrough product. Oxylus was excellent at taking mentor feedback and suggestions, incorporating this into their thinking, reflecting this back to mentors and then challenging mentors for advice on how they might do it even better." - Fred Gallagher, Managing Director & CEO, Canadian Vitality Pathway

Solidec

Solidec builds technology to produce chemicals and fuels from air, without the carbon emissions or green premium. Solidec produces ready-to-use chemicals without separation steps, which account for 50% of the energy consumption in the chemical industry today.

solidec.com

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"By re-imagining the standard electrochemical reactor, Solidec eliminates the need to purify products from its reactor. This matters a lot! Purification accounts for half the cost of chemical production, whether by current fossil-fueled processes or by conventional electrochemical routes. Solidec has a very strong technical team and good traction in its go-to-market product of hydrogen peroxide. Their novel cell is a platform for synthesizing a variety of commercially important molecules. This makes Solidec one of a new generation of ventures with a realistic shot at re-inventing industrial chemistry." - Steven Bryant, Research Chair in Materials Engineering, University of Calgary

Statvis Analytics

Statvis Analytics has developed Statvis Environmental Data Intelligence System™, a SaaS platform that analyzes soil samples to determine contamination sources, identify responsible parties for environmental contamination and visualize the results. The software provides actionable data that streamlines remediation project management and helps environmental lawyers and professionals working on contentious sites enhance their ability to navigate complex cases. Statvis reduces the time and cost needed to address environmental contamination by 40-60% and decreases GHG emissions by 25% or more by decreasing trips required to travel to contamination sites.

statvis.com

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"I work in the energy industry and see the potential risk and liability that is associated with environmental site remediation. Statvis has developed a science based, proven technology to help their clients limit this exposure but also focus their efforts to do the right thing for the environment. Paul and the team have really grown through the CDL experience. They are incredibly open to feedback and enhancing the messaging around their value proposition. This is a very large market that is not going anywhere and Statvis has the advantage of a proprietary offering that will be attractive to a variety of clients. Even their competitors will be enticed to adopt this technology. They have the benefit of a 'menu' of choices that include simple one-off uses, to project-based work, much of which is likely to be recurring. They also have the makings of a SaaS model but their business plan does not rely on the success of one or the other. This business is scalable, unique, and will likely see multiple offers for partnerships, collaboration or acquisition. Paul is organized, responsive, open minded and committed to making his business a success. It was a pleasure to mentor this venture at CDL." - Mike Backus, Chief Operating Officer, Kiwetinohk Energy Corp.

Recon Intelligence Corporation

Recon Intelligence Corporation has developed proprietary sensors (loggers) to capture downhole drilling dynamics accompanied by a software that identifies drilling dysfunctions. The software provides users with immediate insights into operational issues and will provide actionable automated recommendations in the future. Recon Intelligence’s technology delivers precise and comprehensive data that improves efficiency by 20%, reduces maintenance cost of downhole equipment by 50%, doubles bit life expectancy while eliminating the need for expert analysis.

reconlogger.ca

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"I raised my hand for Recon because they’re tackling a critical, costly challenge in drilling with smart, scalable technology. Their plug-and-play sensors and real time analysis software offer on site insights that improve efficiency and significantly cuts costs — no experts needed. Very quick customer payback. The CDL community should know this is a technically sharp & execution-ready team with significant hands on industry experience. Their downhole tools are gaining significant traction and generating real industry buy-in. Recon has the potential to become the new standard in downhole drilling diagnostics." - Michael Kanovsky, Founder and CEO, Sky Energy

Variablegrid Adaptive Power Inc

Variablegrid employs AI-driven power management and smart grid connectivity to provide a patented EV charging system for buildings and fleets with limited electrical capacity. It continuously monitors real-time power usage and dynamically allocates available capacity to EV chargers. This solution offers a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to expensive infrastructure upgrades, addressing a rapidly growing demand for EV charging.

variablegrid.com

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"Variablegrid has both a strong strategy and a great leadership team. Essential ingredients for success. I was drawn to Variablegrid initially by their strategy. They've intelligently grounded their EV charging deployment strategy by providing a compelling solution to the last mile problem that home owners have with their electrical distribution companies. Not only is it a great selling feature to car dealerships and EV purchasers but also a leverage point for additional products in the future. After working with them over two CDL sprints, I also became impressed by their leadership. Dan is a focused and coachable entrepreneur and a joy to work with." – William Bridge, CTO, Nucleon Energy

Blaze Energy Technologies Corporation

Blaze Energy is developing an ammonia reformer that converts ammonia into a clean fuel mixture of ammonia and hydrogen that can replace traditional hydrocarbons in heavy industry and commercial transport, starting with standalone generators. Blaze’s technology offers fuel flexibility, allowing existing combustion engines to run on ammonia without major modifications, while leveraging current products and supply chains. This approach enables a seamless transition to clean fuels, providing a cost-effective, zero-carbon solution that doesn’t require replacing existing infrastructure.

blazeenergytech.com

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"Richard Barton, Jesse Hensley, and Rok Sitar are battling quite effectively to deploy an enabling technology that can allow a new fuel supply chain to emerge. Arguably, the best way to deploy hydrogen as a fuel technology is actually in the form of ammonia. (See Michael Liebreich's Hydrogen Ladder). Blaze Energy Technology's ammonia reformer is a small hardware addition to engines, gasoline first, diesel next, that can liberate a small volume of hydrogen from ammonia to allow ammonia to have the combustion properties of the replaced hydrocarbon. To the lay person, you can run the engine on ammonia instead. The most attractive place to land this technology at scale is where there is an acute need to change from hydrocarbon fuels, where the retrofits and supply chains are arguably easier to develop for large volumes, docks and marine transport. Short haul is the place to begin development of "nodes" which upon demonstration can show that it is "safe to go into the water" for the long haul vessels. They have captured customer imaginations in the Nordics and Japan." - Douglas Beach, Chair of the Board, Eavor Technologies Inc

Ekstera Inc.

Ekstera develops carbon-free electricity using novel Stirling engines powered by heat sources such as industrial waste, biomass, and geothermal energy. Their patented TrueCycle technology operates at 2-3x the efficiency of all previous heat to electricity conversion models, enabling the capture of previously untapped heat, such as the waste heat from steel mills. TrueCycle technology is highly efficient and scalable and supports steel mills in reducing carbon emissions while cutting electricity costs.

ekstera.ca

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"Ekstera offers a clever and relatively simple solution to an underserved problem that is likely to only increase in importance as power prices rise, and target industries such as steel face increasing pressure to decarbonize with limited practical solutions to do so. Ultimately, the attractiveness of Ekstera as a solution and as a CDL Venture boils down to it being led by the correct founder, developing a solution based in mechanical optimization rather than fundamentally new discoveries, with a product that will be able to scale effectively to become massive (both economically and environmentally) without relying on unrealistic capital access assumptions (i.e. $100M+ FOAK projects). To be more specific, Ekstera is led by an individual that has the capability to hit the technical targets of the business while also being curious and extremely coachable on the areas that aren't his natural strengths. This ability + humility combination will lead to success for Ekstera and has also resulted in him being a fantastic member of the CDL program. Compared to most clean technologies, Ekstera can be deployed at relatively small scales initially with the ability to sequentially grow at the same or additional customer sites. This allows the business to grow quickly and in a very capital efficient manner, while still have an enormous aggregated potential, both environmentally and from an investment/scale perspective. I believe that Ekstera has all of the ingredients necessary to grow into being one of the most successful energy transition companies in Canada." - Adam Le Dain, Principal, SPCI Solutions

Tressl

Tressl is a SaaS platform that automates and streamlines complex agreement processes between critical infrastructure owners and external stakeholders seeking permitting/licensing approvals. The web-based platform houses the entire application process, including documents, stakeholder communication, mapping of key events, and the assignment of responsibility, enabling clients to reduce cycle times from months to hours. This ensures owners and operators legally protect their assets while optimizing operations by 90%, increasing revenue, and ensuring compliance.

tressl.ca

CDL Mentor Endorsement
"I was impressed by Tressl's robust and adoptable way to automate land interactions delivering speed, accuracy and efficiency to their customers. The network effect of satisfied larger clients forcing other clients and services to utilize Tressl as a platform creates an ongoing and growing sales channel. The platform appears to be easy to adopt and easy to adapt to almost any environment and jursidiction where land ownership, existing infrastructure and new infrastructure meet. The Tressl team is enthusiastic, experienced and action oriented, achieving and exceeding objectives by absorbing and applying knowledge from each mentor interaction." - Fred Gallagher, Managing Director & CEO, Canadian Vitality Pathway

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