Tech Update: Smart strategies to reduce emissions from gas-powered electrical plants

First, the good news.
According to the latest annual report from The Atmospheric Fund, a not-for-profit focused on helping the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) reach its net-zero goals, the region has made great strides, largely thanks to expanded adoption of EVs and the implementation of greener building practices in both residential retrofits and new construction projects.
On a less sunny note, overall emissions in the GTHA were up two per cent from 2022 — and emissions from electricity have increased 30 per cent, despite consumption itself staying flat.
In the past four years, grid emissions have more than doubled. That’s primarily a result of a shift back toward more intensive reliance on natural gas–fuelled power plants, which were used more in 2023 than they had been in a decade.
Part of the issue lies in the setup of Ontario’s electrical grid. While the province has the luxury of ample access to clean energy, nuclear and hydro plants aren’t equipped to be able to respond promptly during periods of high demand, explains Josh Wong, the CEO of smart grid startup ThinkLabs.
Plus, clean energy generators are often located far from urban centres, making it harder to transfer electricity from the point of generation to areas of major demand.
“But gas is fast and we can easily dispatch it to load centres,” Wong says. “So Ontario has been relying on gas for peak periods.”
In his opinion, one solution could involve adopting a distribution systems operator (DSO) approach — common in Europe — which uses smart meters, digital tools, bidirectional assessments and real-time readings to manage and optimize how electricity travels between generators and consumers.
Using a DSO to analyze patterns, predict peak periods and oversee supply and demand is one way to mitigate the province’s use of natural gas. ThinkLabs is currently working on an AI-based platform that will gather data on Ontarians’ power usage and leverage that information to automatically predict how to best distribute energy — in a way that avoids putting unnecessary strain on the grid.
“The more peaks you have, especially the more unpredictable peaks you have, the more you use gas,” Wong explains. “The more you can shave those peaks and the more you can properly prepare for them, the less you use gas.”
This Tuesday (Dec. 3), is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities — an occasion to recognize the importance of participation, representation and inclusion (three tenets of the UN’s Disability Inclusion Strategy) and to take stock of the work that still needs to be done to achieve “the full and complete realization of the human rights of all persons with disabilities.”
Independence and agency are key to that work — and in a world that is far from universally accessible, technology plays an important role. This can be seen in the example of Toronto-based Trexo, which has developed a robotic exoskeleton that enables children with disabilities to walk.
The company recently marked a major milestone: its adaptive tech has helped users walk 100 million steps — the equivalent of walking around the world five times. Solutions that allow members of the disabled community to access the world and have their health needs met are the bare minimum, says Jenn Horowitz, Trexo’s head of marketing. But, she says, “It must extend beyond that, allowing them to thrive and contribute.”
Electrovaya, a Mississauga-based lithium-ion battery manufacturing firm, has secured a $50.8 million (US) loan from the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., which the company will use to establish a plant in New York state. This is the latest in a string of positive developments for producers building out Canada’s energy storage supply chain, following on the heels of e-Zinc’s new pilot facility and a major U.S. government contract for Moment Energy.
More than $1.3 million was invested during SheBoot’s fifth annual pitch competition. The top three winners in the grand finale event were Montreal-based AI medical diagnostic company Sonaro, Vancouver’s Flutter Care, which is developing tech to prevent pregnancy complications (the company also received a $100,000 investment from BDC’s Thrive Lab) and St. John’s-based Pragmaclin, a digital assessment tool for Parkinson’s.
Calgary-based fintech firm ZayZoon, which has built a platform that allows workers to access earned wages before payday, was named Scaleup of the Year at the 2024 Start Alberta Tech Awards.
The prize recognizes a later-stage company that has had a positive impact on the Alberta tech ecosystem.
According to the Intelligent Community Forum, Durham Region is a certified intelligent community — an accolade bestowed on regions that are ready for investment and poised for success across economic and cultural channels.
The municipality is the second Canadian region to achieve Intelligent Community status — the first was Winnipeg, which got the nod back in 2017.
2,000: The number of hectares assessed by ARA Robotic’s ODAS aerial survey solution in less than 72 hours at the Mont-Wright Mine Complex.
4: The number of meetings between global representatives dedicated to discussing a worldwide single-use plastics ban. The fourth round of negotiations, happening on Dec. 2 in Busan, South Korea, marks the last chance to create this legislation.
$7 million: The target goal of Cascadia Seaweed’s latest funding round — of which the company has already raised $4 million. Cascadia cultivates high-quality, low-impact seaweed in partnership with coastal First Nations.