The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency has announced about $2.8 million worth of loans for a quartet of cleantech startups, including Halifax’s Graphite Innovations & Technology, or GIT, which last month closed a $10.2 million series A funding round as it ramps up its international expansion.
GIT has developed coatings for ships' hulls and propellers, which improve fuel efficiency and reduce underwater noise. GIT’s loan is the largest of the four at $950,000. The other three companies, which are also based in Halifax, are Rayleigh Solar Tech at $750,000, Prosaris Solutions at $500,000 and Arolytics at $300,000.
Led by CEO Paul Pynn, Rayleigh makes thin, flexible solar panels that derive their unusual properties from a calcium- and titanium-based material called perovskite. Prosaris CEO Colin Sewell and his team are developing ultrasonic sensors to detect gas leaks. And Arolytics co-founders Liz O’Connell and Emmy Atherton have created software that lets the operators of oil and gas wells aggregate data from sensor equipment to monitor greenhouse gas leakage from work sites, as well as automating some parts of the regulatory reporting process.
A non-profit, EfficiencyOne, which was originally created by the provincial government as Efficiency Nova Scotia in 2008 and now advocates for sustainable energy use, also received a grant worth just over $300,000.
GIT will use the money to relocate from its current, 4,000-square-foot production facility to a 17,000-square-foot plant near the industrial district of Burnside. The company expects the facility to be ready by this fall, as it eyes expansion in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The company has 22 staff and plans to hire another 15 people by the end of this year.
“We saw a significant lift in demand in 2022, in part due to world-wide support for ‘green’ eco-friendly products,” said GIT Chief Executive Mo AlGermozi in a statement. “Our new carbon-neutral facility in Dartmouth will allow us to offer our sustainable, graphene-based, biocide-free coatings to more organizations around the world.”
The money comes as GIT has been aggressively expanding its client roster, inking deals with maritime giants like U.K. shipping and aquaculture company Stolt-Nielsen and KOTUG Canada, a partnership between Dutch corporation KOTUG International and Halifax’s Horizon Maritime Services.
Rayleigh, meanwhile, plans to spend its funding on equipment for its pilot manufacturing setup. Prosaris will use its loan to hire more staff and continue its product development. And Arolytics will direct the funding towards sales and marketing efforts.
