Semios Named a 2022 Sustainability Changemaker by SDTC

May 18, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario 

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is proud to announce its inaugural list of Canada’s Sustainability Changemakers. This new distinction will be awarded annually to a select few portfolio companies that have shown outstanding growth over the last few years as well as a track record of delivering on SDTC’s mandate of sustainability and economic benefits for Canada.  

Today, 10 companies are awarded the distinction, in-person, during SDTC’s Annual Leadership Summit in Ottawa. These Changemakers are truly Canadian companies, building knowledge and skill development here at home, while growing a global footprint. They operate in five different provinces and work in sectors ranging from greener concrete to sustainable fuels, to precision agriculture and fiber optics systems.  

The companies chosen as Canada’s Sustainability Changemakers for 2022 have been selected following a rigorous evaluation process consisting of five criteria: 

• Steady annual revenues of over $10M. 
• A compound annual growth rate of 20% or more over the last three years. 
• Significant sustainable benefits and impact measured per SDTC’s proprietary methods of quantifying environmental benefits. 
• Global footprint. 
• Canadian presence and contribution to the local economy: at least 50% of the workforce and significant operations must be Canada-based and the company must demonstrate job growth. 

Canada’s Sustainability Changemakers is the first made-in-Canada list which recognizes homegrown innovation in sustainable technologies. As the largest funder of Canadian sustainable small and medium sized companies, SDTC offers a unique window on the entrepreneurs who are leading the change to a Net Zero economy and is proud to use that expertise to celebrate Canadian excellence.  

Quotes: 

“Innovative companies are driving economic growth and creating well-paying jobs across Canada. That’s why we support Canadian successes as they cement Canada’s position as a global leader in sustainable technology. These ten companies are driving economic prosperity, creating jobs, and putting us on the path to a net-zero carbon economy. Congratulations to Canada’s Sustainability Changemakers for 2022!” 

– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry 

“The title “Canada’s Sustainability Changemakers” is a quality seal, a testimony to our companies’ leadership, excellence, and commitment to sustainability in Canada and around the world. We are proud to recognize these truly Canadian companies doing extraordinary things. They bring us closer to a clean and prosperous future.” 

– Leah Lawrence, President, and CEO of SDTC 

Canada’s Sustainability Changemakers for 2022 are:

• Anaergia (TSX – ANRG), from Burlington, ON, was created to eliminate a major source of greenhouse gases by cost effectively turning organic waste from virtually any waste stream in the municipal solid waste, municipal wastewater, agriculture, and food processing industries, into renewable natural gas (RNG), fertilizer and water, using proprietary technologies. With a proven track record from delivering world-leading projects on four continents including some of the largest in the world, Anaergia is uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end solutions for extracting organics from waste, implementing high efficiency anaerobic digestion, upgrading biogas, producing fertilizer and cleaning water. Anaergia recently commissioned the first of eight RNG facilities it will own and operate in Europe.

• CarbonCure Technologies based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, provides a suite of technologies to concrete producers around the world, helping them to deliver the same high-quality product with a lower carbon footprint, greater material efficiency and less waste. CarbonCure’s systems inject captured carbon dioxide into fresh concrete during mixing, transforming the carbon dioxide into a mineral that is permanently sequestered. This instant mineralization increases the concrete’s compressive strength which also enables safe reductions of carbon-intensive cement material, making the concrete even greener. With more than 550 systems sold, nearly 2.5 million truckloads of CarbonCure mixes have supplied a broad spectrum of sustainable construction projects around the world. With a workforce of more than 160 employees, CarbonCure has a strong presence on both east and west coasts of Canada, with teams expanding across Australia, Mexico, the UK and US.

• Enerkem, based in Montreal, QC, uses non-recyclable, non-compostable municipal solid waste (MSW) and residual biomass to produce sustainable transportation biofuels and circular chemicals that are used in a broad range of everyday products. Enerkem Alberta Biofuels, located in Edmonton, is the world’s first commercial scale biorefinery dedicated to the production of circular chemicals and advanced biofuels using non-recyclable MSW. Supported by a workforce that is 250 strong, Enerkem is now progressing on the construction of its next facility in Varennes, Quebec, where its process will enable the recycling of the carbon and hydrogen contained in non-recyclable waste and wood waste currently landfilled or burned into value-added biofuels and circular chemicals. The company has a pipeline of potential projects around the world, including waste-to sustainable jet fuel in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and waste to circular chemicals in Tarragona, Spain.  In April 2022, Enerkem raised $255M in financing to drive deployment of its technology and support their burgeoning pipeline of global projects.

• Hifi, based in Calgary, AB, develops fiber optic sensing systems inclusive of sensors, hardware & visualization software, and artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning data algorithms for monitoring pipelines, and other community infrastructure. When installed along the length of a new or existing asset such as a pipeline, fiber optic sensors can monitor every centimeter of the pipeline, detecting potential leaks and adding extra layers of safety and operational intelligence. Hifi’s technology has been or is currently being deployed across nearly 3,000,000 meters of pipeline assets and over 1000 downhole wells globally. In 2021, Hifi saw steady and significant growth in sales through contracts with major companies in Canada such as the 1200KM TransMountain Expansion Project, while expanding our market focus to include the emerging energy (H2 & CCUS infrastructure), mining, and water sectors.

• KEY DH Technologies, based in Collingwood, Ontario, develops innovation-driven businesses in the deuterium and hydrogen industries, serving global markets. KEY DH Technology’s three main operating companies include: Hydrogen Optimized , a developer of the patented RuggedCell™ water electrolysis systems for the large-scale production of green hydrogen; Isowater®, a world-leading supplier of deuterium oxide produced using near zero emissions technology; and deutraMed™, a breakthrough deuterium science and innovation company that provides clients with high-value deuterium-containing products for specialized applications along with IP-driven research and services. Over the past two years, Key DH Technologies has shown significant revenue growth in their deuterium businesses, serving customers in the life sciences, high technology, and environmental science sectors in North America and beyond.  They have created dozens of highly skilled jobs in Canada and have plans to expand their manufacturing operation in Ontario to meet the growing demand for their products.

• NanoXplore, based in Montreal, Quebec, is the largest Canadian producer of graphene and one of the largest graphene producers in the world. Graphene is the lightest, strongest, thinnest, best heat-and-electricity-conducting material discovered to date. It is used as a more sustainable additive to carbon black commonly found in plastic and composite industrial materials in the transportation, packaging, electronics industries. NanoXplore’s GrapheneBlack™ technology also allows for plastic to be recycled again without sacrificing product performance.  In 2021, NanoXplore completed the commissioning of its new Montreal-based 4000 t/y production plant and expanded its compounding and materials design capabilities.  They also entered a joint venture with Martinrea (a leading Canadian Tier 1 automotive supplier) for the development of graphene-enhanced batteries for electric vehicles.  NanoXplore employs nearly 450 people, with 80% of its workforce located in Canada.

• RecycleSmart, from Richmond, BC, is revolutionizing the waste management industry by developing and deploying sensor-based technologies for waste bins that accurately gather waste and recycling data and insights in real-time. This information enables businesses to make better decisions around waste sorting at the source, leading to higher recycling rates, less waste going to landfills and a reduction in their environmental footprint. Over the past few years, RecycleSmart has shown a steady and significant growth in sales. Faced with supply chain constraints brought on by the pandemic, RecycleSmart pivoted to set up local contract manufacturing capability, enabling them to thrive over the past two years and accelerate their business growth.

• Saltworks, from Richmond, BC, provides cutting-edge solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. Their technologies allow users to recycle wastewater, remove contaminants, reduce energy consumption, and recover valuable resources. With manufacturing operations anchored in their 200,000 ft² facility in Richmond, BC, Saltworks has seen significant revenue growth, expanding and diversifying into a broad range of global markets such as semiconductors, automotive, mining, and manufacturing where their solutions are in demand.

• Semios, in Vancouver, BC, is a precision agriculture company with a global footprint. Their all-in-one Crop Management Platform for high value crops such as tree fruit, nuts, and vines provides farmers with actionable information that allows them to manage tree health, increase yields, reduce the chemicals they need for pest and disease management, and reduce the water they use for irrigation.  Leveraging a network of sensors that provide more than 500M data points measuring climate, soil moisture, insect and disease activity daily, Semios applies big data analytics to reduce and mitigate crop risks for growers. Over the past few years, Semios has seen exponential growth and demand for their solution.  In the race for global leadership in the precision agriculture space, in 2021, Semios closed $100M in fundraising and made three major acquisitions (Altrac, Centricity, AgWorld), positioning them as a global leader in precision agriculture technology space.

• Vive Crop Protection, from Mississauga, ON, utilizes nano-polymers to deliver a wide variety of crop protection products to farmers, helping them achieve greater yields and net return while reducing harmful environmental impacts. Using precision chemistry and their patented Allosperse delivery system, Vive helps growers minimize the use of chemicals such as fungicide, insecticides, and herbicides. Vive also has shown strong sales and revenue growth, is exporting to the U.S. while continuing to create jobs here at home.

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Sustainable Development Technology Canada 

media@sdtc.ca 

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