Canada Growth Fund leads $55 million USD financing round in dcbel to accelerate the commercialization of bidirectional EV charger technology

MONTREAL, March 7, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada Growth Fund Inc. ("CGF") is pleased to announce an investment of $40 million USD in dcbel Inc. ("dcbel"), a Montreal-based smart home energy platform company which has developed a unique bidirectional electric vehicle ("EV") charging hardware integrated with a home energy management system. This transaction was completed in the context of a larger financing round of up to $55 million USD. In addition to CGF's investment, Idealist Climate Impact Fund LP ("Idealist"), alongside other investors, will invest up to $15 million USD. This funding will support dcbel's commercialization efforts across North America and Europe while maintaining headquarters in Canada, protecting Canadian intellectual property and creating high quality jobs.

Since its launch in summer of 2023, CGF has closed 12 transactions, including this investment in dcbel, and has committed nearly $2.3 billion CAD across five Canadian provinces. CGF invests in Canadian clean technology businesses that are advancing innovative technology solutions through commercialization, such as dcbel's Ara—the world's first comprehensive home energy solution. Ara integrates bidirectional EV charging, advanced home intelligence, and solar power generation and storage.

"Scaling up companies and protecting Canadian intellectual property is essential as Canada works to improve its competitiveness on the world stage," said Yannick Beaudoin, President and CEO of Canada Growth Fund Investment Management Inc. ("CGFIM"). "Consumers are increasingly seeking solutions to maximize energy efficiency and reduce household energy costs, and dcbel has developed an innovative optimization solution to meet this need."

dcbel is a Montreal-based company founded in 2015 with approximately 80 employees. Since its inception, dcbel has developed around 50 patents across six technologies in power electronics and power conversion.

"Developing and scaling breakthrough clean technology requires capital partners at each phase of development, and CGF's unique investment mandate is flexible and aligned with the realities of growing clean technology companies," said Marc-André Forget, CEO of dcbel. "This investment marks a pivotal inflection point for dcbel, enabling us to accelerate our growth and further our mission of providing sustainable energy solutions that empower homeowners and communities."

Given its multiple functionalities and use of artificial intelligence, dcbel's Ara supports renewable energy use, leverages underutilized EV batteries, and cuts energy costs for homeowners. dcbel's technology is one of the most advanced in its sector, solving for blackout events for homeowners and potentially shielding consumers from higher electricity prices during peak grid demand.

"Idealist is pleased to make this additional investment in dcbel. We have been shareholders in dcbel since 2023 and have strong conviction that dcbel offers a unique solution to satisfy the growing customer needs for smart, clean and cost-efficient energy solution' said Pierre Larochelle, co-Managing Partner of Idealist. 'We look forward to continuing to work with the dcbel management team as they scale their business globally."

Transaction Highlights

• dcbel and CGF have reached a financial agreement to accelerate the deployment of dcbel's technology;
• CGF to invest $40 million USD in dcbel with new and existing investors to invest up to an additional $15 million USD;
• dcbel's investor base is comprised of private family offices and investors from across the globe, including, amongst others, Idealist, Coatue, and Volvo Cars;
• This round of funding will enable dcbel to accelerate its commercialization in North America and Europe in the near-term;
• As a bidirectional device, Ara connects to energy programs provided by utilities, energy service providers, microgrids and virtual power plants;
• With its included EV connectors and the ability to solar-charge any vehicle, Ara reduces everyday EV charging costs. Drivers can also monetize the energy in their EV's battery via vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and tap into several days' worth of blackout power through vehicle-to-home (V2H) power flow;
• dcbel's residential bidirectional DC charger was the first to achieve certification in the US to UL Solutions, a global company that sets industry standards for product safety.

About the Canada Growth Fund

CGF is a $15 billion arm's length public investment vehicle that helps attract private capital to build Canada's clean economy by using investment instruments that absorb certain risks, in order to encourage private investment in efficient low carbon projects, technologies, businesses, and supply chains. Further information on CGF's mandate, strategic objectives, investment selection criteria, scope of investment activities, and range of investment instruments can be found on www.cgf-fcc.ca.

About Canada Growth Fund Investment Management

In Budget 2023, the Government of Canada announced that PSP Investments, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, would act as the asset manager for CGF. CGFIM has been incorporated to act as the independent and exclusive asset manager for CGF.

About dcbel

dcbel was founded in 2015 on the principle that everyone deserves clean, reliable and sustainable energy to live a life without compromise.

The company's Home Energy Station perfects the art and science of smart home energy, allowing people to take ownership over their energy supply with one small device. Homeowners can supply their home and EV with solar power, use vehicle-to-home charging to make power outages a thing of the past, and reduce energy costs with artificial intelligence.

dcbel's cloud IoT management platform Chorus, which was certified to the Common Smart Inverter Profile (CSIP)/IEEE 2030.5 standard in 2022, provides the components necessary to optimize and aggregate all residential distributed energy resource (DER) devices in real-time. dcbel's flagship product, the Ara Home Energy Station, leverages Chorus to safely manage the bidirectional flow of energy between the home and the grid.

To learn more, visit dcbel.energy

Advisors

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP acted as advisors to CGF and CGFIM in connection with CGF's investment.

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acted as advisors to dcbel in connection with the transaction.

PSP Investments' Conflict of Interest Policy

PSP Investments has established a policy to address the risk of any real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest in the context of the services provided by CGFIM to CGF, requiring PSP Investments and CGF to disclose where they have overlapping investments.

At the time of the approval of the transaction, PSP Investments held a limited partner interest, representing less than 9% of fund commitments, with no investment discretion, in Real Investment Fund 17, a minority shareholder of dcbel.

The foregoing is being disclosed in accordance with PSP Investments' Conflicts of Interest Policy.

SOURCE Canada Growth Fund | Fonds de croissance du Canada

For CGF's Media relations, contact [email protected].