British Columbia, BC– Moment Energy, a Canadian cleantech startup repurposing retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries for sustainable battery energy storage systems, was awarded the grand prize of $100,000 as the winner of Spring Activator’s first-ever National Impact Investor Challenge, a 10-week program consisting of multiple pitches and training sessions that empowers emerging impact investors and purpose-driven ventures to make and seek impactful investments.

Participating startups are evaluated by the investor cohort on a combination of market opportunity and timing, quality of solution, business model, go-to-market, traction, and impact. Piloted in 2019 in Vancouver, this was Spring’s first Canada-wide Challenge, adding to the significance of Moment’s recognition as a top impact business from among the 150+ startups that applied for the program from across the country.

“Impact is core to Moment’s DNA, so we’re incredibly excited to be awarded the top impact startup in Canada,” said Sumreen Rattan, co-founder and COO of Moment Energy. “Our goal is to accelerate the world’s transition to renewables by creating the most affordable battery energy storage system 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. 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.”

“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.”

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 battery energy storage systems, 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.

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