Québec City-based Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) solutions company UgoWork has raised $22.8 million CAD in a Series B round.
The funding was led by Fonds de solidarité FTQ with participation from Export Development Canada (EDC) and existing investors Desjardins Capital and Investissement Québec. The round closed on September 28th, bringing UgoWork’s total funding to date to $25.6 million CAD.
The all-equity, all-primary capital financing will go toward expanding UgoWork’s distribution footprint globally and with major Fortune 500 companies, as well as accelerating the development of its EaaS platform behind the company’s lithium-ion battery lineup.
“We have set high expectations in the market.”
– UgoWork CEO Philippe Beauchamp
UgoWork develops and manufactures lithium-ion batteries and vehicles in the material handling industry. The company absorbs the energy, ownership, maintenance, and repair costs for clients so they can focus solely on operational costs to free up capital to invest in core projects.
UgoWork says it has seen increasing demand for its EaaS solution in the midst of what it calls an unprecedented global context, listing supply chains, labour shortages, and energy efficiency as the top concerns. “We have set high expectations in the market thanks to the performance, innovation, and unprecedented business value our solutions offer,” said UgoWork CEO Philippe Beauchamp.
Those market expectations are partially driven by a global shift to clean energy solutions—one in which Canada is playing a prominent role.
Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in Canada, which ranks second globally in a lithium battery supply chain ranking done by Bloomberg. Moving up to second from fifth place in 2021, Canada trails only China and is ahead of the United States in three categories: innovation and infrastructure, raw materials, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).
The federal government has also announced billions in clean energy sector investments over the past year. This includes $3.8 billion to implement Canada’s first Critical Minerals Strategy, $1.5 billion for the Strategic Innovation Fundand $15 billion over five years allotted to the Canada Growth Fund.
“Canada and Québec especially have minerals, expertise for transformation, and affordable hydro-electricity, so it makes it an ideal location in North America in terms of supply for the battery industry,” said JF Marchand, Marketing Director at UgoWork. “Québec can become competitive quickly for high-end domestic use, especially for niche applications.”
Feature image courtesy UgoWork.