2025: A year of execution and scale

by ahnationtalk on December 18, 202533 Views

December 17, 2025

2025 was a year of momentum, milestones, and execution for NorthX Climate Tech. It also reflected a broader shift across Canada’s climate tech ecosystem: a move from promise to impact, with BC innovators increasingly competing and succeeding on the global stage.

As we close out an eventful year, we’re reflecting on several key moments that will carry forward into 2026:

We reintroduced ourselves as NorthX Climate Tech and sharpened our focus on climate hard tech

This year marked an important evolution for our organization. In May, we reintroduced ourselves as NorthX Climate Tech, a name that reflects a sharper focus on backing the builders of climate hard tech at the moments they need it the most.

Since launching in 2021, we’ve supported more than 80 emission-cutting projects, helping to turn breakthrough research into real-world solutions. We know that the technologies that will drive decarbonization and strengthen Canada’s industrial competitiveness don’t always fit neatly into categories and they rarely scale without support at the inflection point where risk is highest. That’s where NorthX comes in. We invest early in what gets built: first-of-a-kind projects, scalable technologies, and the industrial solutions that form the backbone of a low-carbon economy.

We celebrated the many wins of our portfolio companies

Across our portfolio of 71 companies, many reached major milestones that signal growing commercial traction and global relevance. For example:

Arca announced a long-term offtake agreement with Microsoft for nearly 300,000 tonnes of durable carbon removal.

FireSwarm Solutions was selected from more than 3,600 global submissions to join the 2026 NATO DIANA Challenge Programme.

pH7 Technologies closed a $25.6M Series B to scale critical metals extraction.

Anodyne Chemistries raised a $6.5M seed+ round.

CO280 secured world-leading engineered carbon removal offtake agreements with Microsoft and JPMorganChase.

NORAM Electrolysis Systems (NESI) signed its first major project contract with Vulcan Energy as exclusive electrolysis technology supplier for Phase One of the Lionheart Project in Germany.

FireSwarm Solutions, Skyward and Wildfire Robotics, each supported by NorthX, were named finalists in the Conservation X Labs Fire Grand Challenge, advancing to field testing among a highly competitive global cohort focused on next-generation wildfire resilience solutions.

Moment Energy raised a $15M USD Series A, to build the world’s first second‑life EV battery gigafactory in the U.S.

HTEC secured $49M from SIF to advance a hydrogen liquefier in North Vancouver and opened its sixth light-duty hydrogen refueling station.

Telescope Innovations was conditionally approved for up to $3.36M federal funding to advance lithium processing, partnered with Standard Lithium on battery-grade lithium sulfide, and produced 99.9%+ lithium carbonate from recycled brines.

Brokkr Resources received NRC IRAP pilot funding to advance nature‑based nickel laterite extraction, supporting pilots in Canada and Indonesia.

EnviCore achieved 100X Scale-Up, successfully demonstrating multi-tonne continuous SCM production.

We showcased BC’s climate tech sector on the global stage

At Web Summit Vancouver, NorthX Climate Tech, together with Foresight Canada, Alacrity Canada, Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN), and Innovation UBC, launched the Climate Innovation Zone, a dedicated platform to showcase BC climate tech innovators to global investors, partners, and policymakers. The Zone brought climate solutions to the centre of the Summit, highlighting technologies positioned to scale across energy, industry, and climate resilience.

Over three days, the Climate Innovation Zone was a hub of activity, with partner-led panels and discussions drawing strong participation and engagement. The response reinforced BC’s role as a launchpad for climate hard tech and reflected growing global demand for deployable, industrial-scale climate solutions.

Read the full recap of the Climate Innovation Zone at Web Summit Vancouver on our blog.

Expanded support for women founders

In 2025, NorthX strengthened its commitment to women-led climate hard tech through targeted investment, strategic partnerships, and founder-focused programming. Through our inaugural Women in Climate Tech Call for Innovation, we invested $2.46 million across five women-led ventures, supporting scalable solutions in transportation, construction, and bio-industrial decarbonization.

Beyond capital, NorthX partnered with Scotiabank, Roynat Capital, and the Scotiabank Women Initiative to accelerate pathways to growth. This included Road to Web Summit Vancouver: Innovation with Impact – Women in Tech, delivered with Vancouver Entrepreneurs Forum and Spring. Through pitch training, mentorship, live showcases, and investor engagement, more than a dozen women founders were prepared for global exposure and capital conversations, culminating in public pitch events aligned with Web Summit Vancouver.

NorthX’s commitment to community was further reflected in CEO Sarah Goodman’s recognition as a BCBusiness Woman of the Year in the Community Builder category.

Strengthening our climate tech ecosystem

In November, Converge 2025 marked a clear inflection point for Canada’s climate tech sector. Bringing together more than 300 founders, investors, operators, policymakers, and partners, our largest gathering to date focused squarely on execution. Conversations moved beyond ideas to the realities of first-of-a-kind deployment, scalable growth, customer alignment, and the partnerships required to build durable industrial pathways.

We announced investment in five new university spinouts through our University Call for Innovation and double-downed with a follow-on investment in Mangrove Lithium. With more than $17M invested in spin-offs from post-secondary institutions, NorthX is now Canada’s largest funder of climate ventures emerging from university research.

Ahead of Converge, we united more than 45 founders with leading investors in climate tech for a series of focused, high-impact discussions designed to spark alignment and build ongoing relationships.

NorthX deployed more than $9M to help climate ventures validate, demonstrate, and scale

Our impact in 2025 was measured not just in dollars deployed, but in momentum created. By backing high-potential climate ventures across key sectors, NorthX helped unlock follow-on investment, mobilize private capital, and accelerate pathways to market.

By the numbers: