Participated · Equity · Mar 2023

Founded in 2007, Divert provides an end-to-end solution that leverages data to prevent food waste, facilitates edible food recovery, and transforms unsold food into renewable energy and fertilizers under its Prevent, Provide, Power® approach. The company's platform operates at the intersection of food, logistics, agriculture, energy, and carbon markets and serves major food retailers and manufacturers across the U.S. Divert's model aims to reduce waste at source, support compliance, improve operational efficiency, and recover value from discarded resources. The business is commercially and operationally proven and is a portfolio company of Ara Partners. Recent strategic partnerships, including the Series C led by Mitsubishi Corporation, are intended to scale its infrastructure and expand renewable natural gas offtake and market access globally.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2022

Flyscan Systems develops a proprietary remote sensing and visual inspection detection platform to make energy corridors and other long linear critical infrastructure safer. Led by CEO Eric Bergeron, the company focuses on helping energy companies and operators protect assets, the public and the environment while delivering a positive financial return. Flyscan has entered commercial agreements with multiple energy companies in North America. The company plans to use new funding to support commercialization and scale up its operations. Its core product targets detection and inspection needs across long linear infrastructure networks. The company is based in Quebec City, Canada. Flyscan Systems develops a platform that automates early detection of small hydrocarbon leaks for oil and gas pipeline operators using a patented ultraviolet laser and provides geo-referenced information on potential threats and anomalies. The system can flag hazards such as vehicles or infrastructure warnings, landslide risks, soil movement from erosion, and changes in vegetation. The company plans to use the new funding to commercialize its platform and advance deployments with pipeline operators. Flyscan was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the National Optics Institute and is based in Québec City. Prior to this round the company received support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Investissement Québec, and the City of Québec. Founder and CEO Eric Bergeron previously led Optosecurity, which raised $38 million in equity financing and was acquired by a division of Toyota Industries.

Participated · Equity · May 2014

Skyonic develops SkyCycle™, a thermolytic chemical process that captures CO2 emissions and converts them into marketable, carbon-negative chemical products. The process is reported to capture CO2 at an estimated cost of $16–$25 per ton, below industry averages. Products from the process include hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate (limestone), which can be used in glass, paper, cement, paint, PVC pipe and other applications. Skyonic is testing the technology at a demonstration scale at the Capitol Aggregates Cement Plant in San Antonio and is building a commercial-scale plant using its SkyMine® technology. Led by founder and CEO Joe Jones, the company is pursuing commercialization and international growth. Financially, Skyonic recently raised $12.5M and also joined a CAD$500k grant from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation to support development toward commercialization. Skyonic develops technologies that extract and mineralize carbon dioxide from industrial flue gas into commercial products such as baking soda, hydrochloric acid and limestone while scrubbing SOx, NOx and mercury. The company builds new and retrofittable plants designed to produce carbon‑negative chemical products at low cost. Skyonic plans to use the recent financing to build a commercial‑scale carbon capture and mineralization plant at Capitol Aggregates Cement in San Antonio, Texas, which is expected to enable the profitable removal of more than 300,000 tons of CO2. The company also intends to advance its global IP portfolio of carbon chemistry solutions and fund R&D and operations. Skyonic was founded in 2005 by inventor and CEO Joe Jones. Its recent financing and grant activity indicate capital support for commercialization and scale‑up. Skyonic has developed an electrolytic carbon-capture technology, SkyMine, that selectively removes CO2, acid gases and heavy metals from flue gas and recycles them into hydrochloric acid, sodium bicarbonate and other byproducts. The company is based in Austin, Texas and was founded in 2005 by CEO Joe Jones. Skyonic is building a carbon capture and utilization plant at Capitol Aggregates in San Antonio, Texas; once operational in 2014 the facility is expected to capture 83,000 short tons and offset an additional 220,000 short tons of CO2 annually. The firm intends to use the recent funding to support construction costs for the U.S. plant, advance its global IP portfolio of green carbon chemistry solutions, and for R&D and operations. Financially, Skyonic has received the first portion of $9M as part of a committed $35M Series C financing. Backers on this tranche include Northwater Capital Management, ConocoPhillips, BP and PVS Chemicals alongside existing investors such as Carl Berg and Zachry Corporation.

Led · Series C · Jul 2013

On-Ramp Wireless develops wireless solutions for energy automation and M2M communications, with a network purpose-built to efficiently connect billions of hard-to-reach devices in metro-scale and other challenging environments. Its Total Reach technology scales from dense urban to vast rural settings, above or below ground, enabling low-power monitoring and control applications for Smart Grid, oil & gas, water efficiency, industrial sensing, and location tracking. The company is commercializing Smart Grid and Digital Oil Field solutions and plans to open new markets that need to connect distributed corporate assets regardless of location. Its solutions have delivered measurable results—San Diego Gas & Electric used On-Ramp to reduce outage downtimes and to more accurately predict future service disruptions via distribution monitoring and automation. Oil & Gas is its fastest-growing global sector, with business-critical wireless solutions for production and delivery applications; new investor Enbridge plans to use the platform for long-range monitoring of its distributed asset base. GE Ventures is both an investor and a strategic integration partner, having embedded On-Ramp’s Total Reach in GE’s Grid IQ AMI P2MP solution; water and natural gas offerings are slated for release next year.

Led · Series B · Nov 2011

Morgan Solar, founded in 2007 and based in Toronto, manufactures the Sun Simba™, a rapidly deployed solar energy generation solution integrated with its lightweight, self-ballasted Savanna™ tracker. The company’s Light‑guide Solar Optic enables a low‑profile, lightweight concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system that the company says is less expensive to build, ship, deploy, and maintain than competing technologies. Sun Simba systems scale from 10‑kilowatt to multi‑megawatt installations. Morgan Solar intends to use the funding to expand manufacturing capacity for the Sun Simba™, invest in sales development, and continue to develop and expand its portfolio of solar technologies. The company’s Series B round has been increased through the recent investment to a total of USD$28.8M. Morgan Solar develops the Sun Simba concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) module and focuses on commercializing CPV technology. The company plans to increase manufacturing and deployment of Sun Simba and to install demonstration sites in Ontario and the U.S. this year. Management says the technology can deliver grid-competitive levelized costs of electricity without subsidies. Morgan Solar has closed the first installment of a Series B funding tranche for US$16.5 million to expand manufacturing and deployment. The Series B funding, together with a US$3.3 million loan from the California Energy Commission, is intended to enable the company to found a manufacturing facility in San Diego while enhancing its manufacturing and R&D presence in Ontario. The company is also in talks with strategic investors to close the remainder of the round. Morgan Solar is a Toronto-based solar energy startup developing a concentrated-photovoltaic (CPV) solar panel called the Sun Simba HCPV. The company increased its first investment round to US$8.2M (up from US$4.7M announced in October 2009). The funds are intended to finance activities through to the commercial release of the Sun Simba HCPV. Early manufacturing for testing and certification has started at Morgan Solar’s facility in Toronto. Initial commercial deliveries were expected by the end of the year, with plans to ramp global sales, manufacturing, and delivery capabilities in 2011. The financing includes participation from strategic and experienced clean-tech investors to support commercialization. Morgan Solar, founded in 2007 and based in Toronto, develops concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technologies intended to make solar energy significantly less expensive. Its first product to market is the Sun Simba HCPV, built on the company’s proprietary optics technology. John Paul Morgan, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, is the inventor of that optics technology. The recent financing is intended to fund Morgan Solar’s migration from research and development to manufacturing. The company has begun a Round A and has secured an initial tranche of capital to support that transition. An additional investment tranche is expected to close soon.