From university spin-outs to scaling ventures, NorthX invests $2 million in BC climate innovators
NorthX leads Canada in funding climate-focused university ventures that turn research into jobs and commercial impact
VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 20, 2025 /CNW/ - NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX), a non-profit investor and catalyst for climate hard tech innovation, has announced $2 million in new investments to accelerate the growth of BC-based climate technology companies. The announcement was made at Converge 2025, a leading conference and gathering of BC's climate tech community.
The new funding includes $500,000 in seed investment for five ventures from BC universities and post-secondary institutions: Carbonyx, CURA, Green Manganese, Narval Energy, and Phyco. Each company will receive $100,000 to accelerate their early-stage development.
NorthX is also deepening its commitment to BC climate tech leader Mangrove Lithium with a $1.5 million follow-on investment that will help demonstrate continuous operation of its electrochemical lithium refining platform -- the final step before commercial deployment. By enabling low-carbon, scalable lithium refining at battery-grade quality, Mangrove is helping decarbonize and reshore a critical step in one of the most critical supply chains in the clean economy.
That leadership is already taking shape. With more than $17 million invested in spin-offs from post-secondary institutions, NorthX is now Canada's largest funder of climate ventures emerging from university research.
"Every major climate tech solution begins with a spark -- a question asked in a lab, on a shop floor, or inside a university," said Sarah Goodman, President and CEO of NorthX. "NorthX exists to back the builders turning ideas into industry with capital, connections, and conviction. Today, we're supporting five new university spinouts and making a new investment in Mangrove Lithium, a company proving clean, scalable lithium refining can be built here at home to power the energy transition in North America and beyond."
From cutting industrial emissions to reimagining materials and energy storage, NorthX is proud to back this next generation of BC-based climate ventures and their mission, including:
- Carbonyx (UBC): Turning industrial waste into carbon negative materials
- CURA (UBC): Electrified cement and lime production for a net zero world
- Green Manganese (BCIT): Recovering battery-grade manganese with a clean process
- Narval Energy (UBC): Enabling clean energy in extreme temperatures with a robust sodium battery technology
- PhyCo (SFU): Making compostable bioplastics from seaweed and organic waste
NorthX's follow-on investment in Mangrove Lithium signals its commitment to supporting BC innovators as they scale toward commercial deployment.
"Shell has long recognized that innovation and collaboration go hand in hand," said Stastia West, Shell Canada President and Country Chair and Vice President Integrated Gas. "Working together with other companies, universities, governments and customers will help drive the new technologies that are needed to scale-up BC's lower carbon economy."
To date, NorthX has invested nearly $48.3 million in 80 projects, creating more than 900 jobs and catalyzing $475 million in follow-on investment. Forty-two percent of NorthX's total funding has supported companies spun out of university research programs, which together have attracted over $260 million in co-funding, 82 percent from the private sector.
About NorthX Climate Tech
Founded in 2021 with an initial investment from the BC Government, the Government of Canada, and Shell Canada, NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX) is a catalyst for climate action, funding the climate hard tech solutions that transform industries and build lasting prosperity.
Rooted in British Columbia but global in vision, we unite visionaries, investors, industry, government, and partners to scale technologies that drive deep decarbonization and economic growth for Canada. Like the "X" on a map, we pinpoint that pivotal moment when potential is immense, but capital is scarce, that place where local strengths become global solutions.
SOURCE NorthX Climate Tech
Media Contact: Lindsay Chan, VP, Communications & Marketing, [email protected]
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