Arolytics, the Halifax- and Calgary-based maker of emissions tracking software for oil and gas companies, has raised a seed round worth over $3.5 million, led by BDC Capital’s new, $150 million Sustainability Venture Fund.

Other backers of the round included Vancouver-based Yaletown Partners, returning Alberta investors Metiquity Ventures and Startup TNT and an unnamed strategic backer from Houston, Texas.

The money will go towards further developments of Arolytics’ AroViz software for methane emissions management, as well as its newer AroFEMP emissions forecasting model, along with a sales push in the United States market and a planned expansion of its currently 20-person team.

“BDC was of particular interest due to the fund’s alignment with our vision and mission in addition to the network, strategic, and advisory resources that we will be able to leverage beyond capital,” president Liz O’Connell said in a statement. 

“We look forward to entering our next phase of growth alongside these partners.”

Founded in 2018, Arolytics grew out of research at St. Francis Xavier University, where co-founders O’Connell, Emmaline Atherton and Dave Risk were developing technology to measure methane releases. Now, they help for-profit businesses document those same emissions, particularly from oil and gas projects and especially for purposes of regulatory compliance.

The company previously raised $710,000 from Startup TNT in 2021 after winning that organization’s inaugural Calgary Investment Summit in November, the prize for which included backing from a pool of Alberta investors. As part of the deal, Arolytics also received funding from Calgary based M-Tech Innovations and Metiquity.

And in July, the company announced it had been selected by California oil giant Chevron’s Technology Ventures arm to participate in its Catalyst accelerator for early-stage energy tech companies.

BDC's Sustainability Venture Fund, meanwhile, is a multi-sector fund created to invest in companies with the potential to further the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Canada's own target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The fund backs startups working in the fields of sustainable cities, sustainable manufacturing, climatetech and clean energy.