The Climate Cycle

• Food Sovereignty and Vertical Farming with Corey Ellis, Growcer

  Corey Ellis is the co-founder and CEO of Growcer, an Ottawa-based company building modular farms & food infrastructure used by communities, schools, and grocers across Canada and around the world.We talk about the impact our food system is having on the climate and how vertical farming can help solve those problems. We also talk about lessons learned from the vertical farming hype cycle, Growcer’s $30M infrastructure fund, and building a company for the long-term.About CoreyCorey started Growcer in 2014 with his co-founder Alida Burke after seeing firsthand how northern communities struggle with food security. What began as a social enterprise project in Nunavut grew into a mission-driven company tackling food affordability, waste, and access.Growcer has deployed over 800 farms worldwide, acquired its US competitor Freight Farms, and launched a $30M Growcer Fund to finance climate infrastructure.In this conversation, we cover:7:40 - What’s broken in our food system and why boring problems like distribution and shelf life matter11:03 - How modular farms cut food waste and fertilizer use - but aren’t a silver bullet16:51 - How Growcer turned customer criticism into their best R&D engine19:19 - What real food sovereignty looks like when communities own their infrastructure24:34 - The “vertical farming” hype cycle and why most players got it wrong39:37 - Borrowing lessons from real estate to finance climate infrastructure50:59 - Solving hard problems and building culture from first principles📬 ⁠⁠Sign up for our weekly briefing⁠⁠ for the latest deals, real-world projects, and policy signals. More→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show notes & resources for this episode⁠→ Support the show with a review on Spotify and Apple!→ Follow us on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠→ Send feedback and episode ideas to ⁠⁠[email protected]

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• Rewiring Risk and Return in Climate Tech with Kevin Krausert, Avatar Innovations

  Kevin Krausert is the co-founder and CEO of Avatar Innovations, a Canadian venture studio reshaping how energy technologies are developed, funded, and scaled. From Calgary to Houston and beyond, Avatar is working with industry insiders to turn ideas into deployable solutions for the energy transition.Kevin brings a unique perspective to climate tech. He began his career on the rigs in northern Alberta, became CEO of one of Canada’s largest drilling companies, and later co-founded Avatar to bridge the gap between researchers, corporate engineers, and operators. His goal: create a new model of innovation that can move the needle on emissions while making economic sense.Talking Points(6:02) How Avatar’s venture studio model differs from traditional VC and why it may be better suited to capital-intensive energy tech(10:58) The evolution of energy innovation - from wildcatters to corporates to today’s startups - and why the old venture model is breaking down(17:32) The role of corporates, governments, and founders in building smarter risk–return structures to accelerate climate solutions (not just throwing public money at the problem)(21:12) Why Canada is positioned as a “middle power” in climate tech(34:24) Tactics for founders and startups to break through the noise selling to corporatesYou’ll walk away with a clear-eyed look at where energy innovation is headed, what models might actually work in Canada’s climate tech landscape, and how founders can better navigate this uncertain but opportunity-rich moment.Show Notes📬 ⁠Sign up for our weekly briefing⁠ for the latest deals, real-world projects, and policy signals. More→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out the full show notes & resources for this episode⁠→ Support the show with a review on Spotify and Apple!→ Follow us on ⁠LinkedIn⁠→ Send feedback and episode ideas to ⁠⁠[email protected]

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• Hunting Gigacorns with Nelson Switzer, Climate Innovation Capital

  Nelson Switzer is the co-founder of Climate Innovation Capital and author of The Gigacorn Hunter. Nelson’s spent his career at the intersection of capital markets and sustainability, helping corporations, institutional investors, and governments allocate dollars where they can drive the greatest climate impactTalking points:(5:11) The fifth industrial revolution. Nelson explains why the decarbonization of everything is not just a trend but an economic and existential shift.(9:34) “Dollars in motion transform entire sectors.” Why Nelson believes capital allocation - not philanthropy or reports - has the greatest power to drive decarbonization.(13:31) The carbon qualification model. A tactical framework using scale, speed, and cost to evaluate whether a climate solution can bend the carbon curve.(21:42) Building trust with investors. Advice for founders on how they can build trust with potential investors - even if they don’t have totally complete data.(31:13) Opportunities in today’s market correction. Why Nelson sees discounted valuations, dry powder, and surging demand as the setup for the next successful vintage of climate funds.(37:40) Canada’s commercialization gap. Why Canadian corporates need to stop piloting and start buying if we want to build global-scale climate companies.Stay in the know on Canada’s clean economy.About Nelson: Before founding Climate Innovation Capital, Nelson led sustainability initiatives inside global giants like Nestlé and advised some of the world’s largest investors on ESG risks and opportunities. His book, The Gigacorn Hunter, lays out a practical playbook for climate investors navigating one of the most urgent - and profitable - frontiers of our time.Show Notes📬 Sign up for our weekly briefing for the latest deals, real-world projects, and policy signals. More→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out the full show notes & resources for this episode⁠→ Support the show with a review on Spotify and Apple!→ Follow us on LinkedIn→ Send feedback and episode ideas to ⁠⁠[email protected]

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• Cultivated Fat and the Future of Food with Emily Farrar, Genuine Taste

  We sit down with ⁠Emily Farrar⁠, co-founder at ⁠Genuine Taste⁠, a startup tackling one of the biggest limitations in plant-based food: flavour.Genuine Taste are developing cultivated animal fats grown from cells in compact bioreactors. Their goal? Deliver the taste, texture, and nutritional profile of real fat - without the emissions or animal suffering.About Emily: With a background in climate tech consulting and civil engineering, Emily co-founded Genuine Taste alongside a biophysics expert to define the future of food and build a more sustainable alternative to animal agriculture. They’ve already secured early partnerships and are scaling toward commercial pilots.We talk about:Why fat is key to unlocking adoption in plant-based foodsLessons they’ve taken from the first wave of alt-protein companiesHow they’re able to produce fats lower costs and 100x smaller footprint than competitorsNavigating regulations and their decision to enter the pet food market firstPositioning cultivated fats and proteins with consumersHow Canada’s biotech ecosystem is giving them an edge📬 Stay in the loop on Canadian climate tech: ⁠⁠subscribe to our weekly newsletter⁠⁠. Get weekly updates on Canadian climate tech funding, industry news, and trends directly to your inbox.More→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out the full show notes & resources for this episode⁠→ Support the show with a review on Spotify and Apple!→ Send feedback and episode ideas to ⁠⁠[email protected]

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• Decarbonizing Cement with Apoorv Sinha, Carbon Upcycling

  Apoorv Sinha is the co-founder and CEO of Carbon Upcycling Technologies, a Calgary-based startup turning industrial waste and captured carbon into low-cement.Cement is a huge part of modern life but also one of the biggest sources of carbon pollution. Carbon Upcycling helps cement producers lower their emissions by replacing traditional cement with low-carbon alternatives made from industrial or mine waste and reacting it with CO2 to permanently lock away carbon.Their tech slots right into existing plants and helps cement makers localize their supply chains, making it easier and cheaper to cut emissions while building the infrastructure Canada needs.About ApoorvApoorv is a chemical engineer by trade and has extensive experience in conventional energy.Since launching Carbon Upcycling in 2014, he’s built partnerships with some of the biggest cement companies in the world, including CRH, Titan, and CEMEX, and just closed a major funding round led by Builders Vision.Talking PointsHow waste from mining and steelmaking can replace emissions-heavy cement ingredientsWhy working with local materials matters for climate, economics, and supply chain securityWhat it takes to scale a startup in Canada’s hard-to-decarbonize sectorsThe policy and funding tools that could speed up adoptionWhy Canada's infrastructure push is a huge opportunity for climate tech📬 Stay in the loop on Canadian climate tech: subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Get weekly updates on Canadian climate tech funding, industry news, and trends directly to your inbox.More→ ⁠⁠⁠Check out the full show notes & resources for this episode→ Support the show with a review on Spotify and Apple!→ Send feedback and episode ideas to [email protected]⁠

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