BCBusiness

11 B C B U S I N E S S . C A A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 5 To p r i g h t : J e t s o n ; G o f i g u r e : A l e x /A d o b e S t o c k , A AVA A /A d o b e S t o c k , R o b u _ s /A d o b e S t o c k , N a r a t h ip /A d o b e S t o c k 11 High-tech phenom Ste- phen Lake rose to fame for his smart glasses and other wear- able devices. But after selling his Kitchener-based company North (formerly Thalmic Labs) to Google in 2020, he aimed to revolutionize a consumer item that's far less likely to feature in any James Bond film: heat pumps. After selling North for an undisclosed sum—the Globe and Mail reported an uncon- firmed US$180 million—the co-founder began helping early-stage companies focused on climate. He noted two key places where consumers B U S I N E S S C L I M AT E HOT STREAK Canadian tech leader Stephen Lake is breathing new life into green home heating by Jennifer Van Evra Jennifer Van Evra is an award-winning Vancouver journalist, broadcaster and UBC writing instructor. choose to purchase fossil fuels: when filling up their cars and when heating their homes. The EV market was already quite evolved, but the same couldn't be said for heat pumps—even though home heating is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to global CO2 emissions. In fact, according to the Canada Energy Regulator, energy used for heating residential and commercial buildings accounts for 16 percent of all energy used in Canada, and 13 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Statistics Canada data shows that, in 2023, just 7 percent of Canadian homes were heated with a heat pump. The energy savings of heat pumps are significant. According to Natural Resources Canada, natural gas heating systems range from 62 to 90 percent efficiency. By contrast, heat pumps are 190 percent efficient—that is, the system moves nearly two units of heat for every unit of electricity it uses. "When you start to look at the numbers, your home actu- ally produces about as many emissions as driving an inter- nal combustion car [per year], and it's one of the biggest S o u r c e s : W e b S u m m i t , I n v e s t Va n c o u v e r, P i t c h b o o k , T h e L o g i c , C B R E , C V C A , B .C . Te c h n o l o g y A s s o c i a t i o n $7,870 CHAIRPERSON (INCLUDES FOOD, MEETING SPACE AND ACCESS TO SPEAKERS' LOUNGE) US$31 billion was invested in Metro Vancouver technology companies between 2018 and 2023. $18 billion of that total went specifically into information technology ventures. BURNABY-BASED CLIO'S $1.24-BILLION FINANCING IN 2024 WAS THE LARGEST VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT EVER RECORDED IN CANADA AND BY ITSELF ACCOUNTED FOR 47% OF ALL VC DOLLARS RAISED ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN THE THIRD QUARTER. IN TOTAL, B.C. COMPANIES RAISED $2.1 BILLION IN 64 DEALS OVER THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THE YEAR, 30 OF THEM IN THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SPACE. 2018 $4.4B $3.1B $4.3B $10.3B $4.3B $5.2B 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 TICKET PRICES FOR WEB SUMMIT VANCOUVER (TAX INCLUDED) $415 GENERAL ATTENDEE $1,990 EXECUTIVE (INCLUDES EVENING RECEPTIONS) MEET JETSON Stephen Lake's company offers direct-to-consumer heat pumps that are more affordable and sustainable than traditional home heating solutions

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