MaRS Catalyst Fund In The Media
ENERGY STORAGE NEWS | Hydrostor launches new Terra bulk energy storage system
Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) company Hydrostor has introduced Hydrostor Terra — a long-duration bulk energy storage system that is expected to compete with new natural gas plants.
By utilizing Terra, utilities and electricity system operators can look at issues such as reserve capacity, peak shaving, transmission congestion and renewables integration while taking cost-effective measures. Read more.
MCKINSEY & COMPANY | Closing the skills gap: Creating workforce-development programs that work for everyone
The “skills gap” in the United States is serious. Here is how to do better.
“The land of opportunity” — that is the promise of the United States. And one of the reasons the country has been able to deliver on that promise is that it has been able to develop the talent it needs to create wealth and to adapt to ever-changing economic realities. But there are concerns that the United States can and should be doing better. Read more.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL | Canada’s Hydrostor eyes role in $1-billion U.S. peak power market
Canadian underwater energy storage company Hydrostor is eyeing $1-billion of contracts to replace decommissioned U.S. peak power plants in the next two or three years, its chief executive said. Read more.
NATIONAL POST | MaRS Catalyst Fund focuses on the ‘double bottom line’ — social impact and returns
It started about 15 months back with an initial seed capital investment of $1 million from the Virgin Unite Canada Foundation and Vancouver’s Mindset Social Innovation Foundation. Now the MaRS Catalyst Fund, which defines itself as a national impact venture fund, has achieved its first close with $3 million in the kitty. Read more.
VIRGIN UNITE | Investing in business as a force for good
“Business as usual should no longer be an option, we have to make business a force for good. By supporting entrepreneurs that put their people, and the planet first, we’re going to help build successful companies. The MaRS Catalyst Fund is well placed to give these aspiring leaders the investment and mentorship they need to get ahead and find a new way to do business,” said Sir Richard Branson. Read more.
PIONEERS POST | Global social innovation round-up #31: Impact investment special
A $5m fund run by Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District and backed by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Unite Foundation, is about to make its first investments. The fun was first launched in 2014 to invest in early-stage Canadian companies that are motivated by a desire to tackle a social or environmental issue and have the potential to generate strong profits. Read more.
PEHUB | MaRS Catalyst Fund to begin investing in social ventures
MaRS Catalyst Fund, which is managed by Toronto-based innovation hub MaRS Discovery District, has begun the process of investing in up to a dozen Canadian early-stage, for-profit companies founded to solve a social or environmental issue. Read more.
TECHVIBES | MaRS Catalyst Fund seeks startups with both social impact and financial returns
Backed by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Unite Foundation, MaRS Catalyst is “a major step in the fast-growing field of social finance,” a new kind of investing that puts the advancement of society alongside financial returns as a key goal. Read more.