July 9, 2025
Startups with U荔枝视频 ties secure clean tech funding
In a shift towards cleaner energy and sustainable construction, innovators are rethinking how we power and build our communities, with some solutions from U荔枝视频 alumni startups gaining traction.
NorthX Climate Tech (formerly the BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy), a Canadian non-profit funding clean energy innovations, has awarded Ayrton Energy and EnviCore Inc. a share of its $2.46M Women in Climate Tech fund. Both companies were previously supported by 荔枝视频 programs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e鈥痟onoured鈥痶o be one of the recipients,鈥 says Dr. , PhD, a U荔枝视频 professor and EnviCore鈥檚 co-founder and scientific director. 鈥淭his funding supports detailed engineering and planning for our commercial-scale facility in Savona, B.C.,鈥痶he first of its kind in Western Canada.鈥
Working to create low-carbon materials and hydrogen integration
The EnviCore leadership team, from left,鈥疘an Piwek, Milana Trifkovic, Aseem Pandey, and Shahrukh Shamim.
EnviCore Inc.
turns industrial mineral waste into low-carbon cement alternatives, helping to cut construction-related carbon dioxide emissions without sacrificing performance.
鈥淲e transform underutilized mineral residues including shales, recycled concrete, and metallurgical slags into high-performance supplementary cementitious materials,鈥 Trifkovic says, adding the process can reduce associated emissions up to 85 per cent.
, meanwhile, enables safer, more efficient hydrogen storage and distribution using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). The goal is to overcome the cost and infrastructure barriers limiting adoption of hydrogen across diverse industries and regions.
Mechanical engineering intern Emily Mundinger works on Ayrton Energy鈥檚 e-LOHC system.
Ayrton Energy
鈥淲hat we do is we enable hydrogen to be stored as a room-temperature, room-pressure liquid that can use the existing infrastructure we already have for liquid fuels,鈥 says Schulich alum and business co-founder Natasha Kostenuk, BSc (Eng)鈥02.
She says their solution allows hydrogen to be transported using the same tanks, trucks, pipelines and rail cars designed for diesel.
The funding, she adds, will help Ayrton leverage B.C.鈥檚 strong electrochemical production industry to boost development.
鈥淏eing able to tap into that network and use the industry partners there is going to help us accelerate our technology towards commercialization,鈥 Kostenuk says.
U荔枝视频 roots and support made a difference
Both companies credit the university and its business-incubating networks for playing vital roles in their early growth.
Beyond a 2019 awarded to EnviCore co-founder Shahrukh Shamim, MSc鈥19, Trifkovic says , the university鈥檚 central innovation hub, provided the company with early stage support with intellectual-property strategy and business development.
In addition, an entrepreneurial stream of the program, , provided EnviCore with mentors, several whom became their first angel investors.
鈥淭his end-to-end ecosystem, from lab discovery to commercialization, has been critical to accelerating our growth,鈥 says Trifkovic.
Kostenuk says a small lab space on campus was a huge milestone for Ayrton Energy, along with help from , another U荔枝视频-based program that funds, trains and mentors startup companies.
Ayrton Energy鈥檚 co-founders, from left, Natasha Kostenuk CEO and Chief technology officer, Brandy Kinkead,
Ayrton Energy
鈥淭hey were hands-on support, which is what we really needed at the time,鈥 says Kostenuk. UCeed鈥檚 energy group invested in Ayrton Energy in 2024.
Another U荔枝视频 connection for the company is co-founder Dr. Brandy Kinkead, PhD, who did postdoctoral research at U荔枝视频 from 2015 to 2022.
Ayrton has grown from a four-person startup to a 20-person team with a dedicated lab in 荔枝视频.
For Kostenuk, Ayrton Energy鈥檚 success reflects the power of U荔枝视频鈥檚 innovation ecosystem in helping researchers and alumni turn solutions into market-ready products.
"It鈥檚 not about creating something novel and then finding a market for it,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about solving a problem ... and I think that鈥檚 one of the things I really learned at U荔枝视频 and have leaned into in my career.鈥
For EnviCore, some early U荔枝视频 supporters still play a role in their mission to deliver sustainable, inclusive solutions toward Canada鈥檚 net-zero goals, says Trifkovic.
鈥淚 want to leave a better planet for my daughter and future generations. Reducing carbon intensity and minimizing our environmental footprint isn鈥檛 just a professional pursuit, it鈥檚 a personal responsibility,鈥 she says.