Cleantech Startup Moment Energy Wins $100K Investor Challenge

Vancouver cleantech startup Moment Energy has been awarded the $100K grand prize as the winner of Spring Activator’s first-ever National Impact Investor Challenge, a 10-week program that empowers emerging impact investors and purpose-driven ventures to make and seek impactful investments.

Moment energy repurposes retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries for sustainable energy storage.

“Impact is core to Moment’s DNA, so we’re incredibly excited to be awarded the top impact startup in Canada. Our goal is to accelerate the world’s transition to renewables by creating the most affordable energy storage on the market, and we believe that we can do so by harnessing end-of-life EV batteries, which have on average 80% of life left when retired from the car,” said Sumreen Rattan, co-founder and COO of Moment Energy.

“We’ve already partnered with Nissan North America and 3 other major automakers to establish a supply chain of EV batteries and deployed multiple pilot projects across Canada.”

While demand for renewable energy is increasing, its adoption is slowed by the high cost of energy storage, which is critical to solving solar/wind intermittency. By repurposing retired EV batteries for a second-life application, Moment offers energy storage at a fraction of the cost of new lithium batteries while creating a circular economy for the exploding number of retired EV batteries.

“The team at Moment won the Challenge for several reasons,” said Keith Ippel, co-founder and CEO of Spring Activator. “Their potential for impact by upcycling automotive batteries and reducing/eliminating the need for diesel power is clear. However, it was all about the team. They consistently showed a desire to learn and grow, were highly coachable, and the result was a more focused plan, clear progress, and an outstanding impact plan.”

Moment Energy is now raising its seed round, engaging with renewable integrators to bring second-life energy storage to market, and seeking partnerships with diesel-dependent customers for off-grid pilot projects.