Global investment group Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec and bp ventures announced a co-investment collaboration targeting ventures in the sustainable energy sector. Their first investment is in BTR Energy, a cleantech company enabling electric vehicles to interact with electricity markets.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
As part of the three-year collaboration, CDPQ and bp ventures said they will share investment opportunities and industry knowledge, with a focus on innovations that can accelerate the energy transition. Examples of areas of interest include mobility electrification, deployment and adoption of renewable energy, batteries and biofuels.
(Plan to attend “How to Overcome Data Challenges to Fully Realize Connected Transportation” on January 26 as part of the in-person DistribuTech conference in Dallas.)
The first investment included additional co-investors Clean Energy Fuels, Innovatus Capital Partners, and SineWave Ventures, and is intended to support BTR Energy in growing its platform to help support transportation sector decarbonization by using data to enable interactions between electric vehicles and electricity markets.
BTR Energy’s platform is designed to automate participation in low carbon fuels programs by connecting EV manufacturers, fleet operators, and charging station networks to renewable electricity generators. BTR Energy will use proceeds from the investment to scale its operations and expand into new markets, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe.
The collaboration with bp ventures is part of Montreal-based CDPQ’s Innovation in Stewardship Investing platform, created in 2020. The platform includes partnerships with S2G Ventures and Energize Ventures and is intended to align with CDPQ’s climate strategy and goal to achieve a 60% reduction in the carbon intensity of the total portfolio by 2030.
