When a potential Spark Centre client fills out an application at sparkcentre.org, we take the time to understand not only what they’re building, but who they are, the problem they’re solving, and the impact they have the potential to create.
Every so often, a company stands out immediately.
You look at the application and instinctively know they’re onto something special.
That’s exactly what we saw when Brendan MacDonald, Founder of Ekstera applied to become part of the Spark Centre ecosystem.
A total gem.
Today, we’re thrilled to celebrate an incredible milestone in Ekstera’s journey. The company has been awarded $1 million in Phase 2 funding through the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Low-Carbon Construction Materials Challenge, a significant investment that will help accelerate the commercialization of its groundbreaking clean energy technology.
“This Innovative Solutions Canada funding is a great step forward for us. Spark Centre has been a valuable resource for Ekstera, and their hands-on assistance with IP funding, market research, and our first marketing materials was a huge help to us! We’re grateful for the support from all of our partners who have helped us get to where we are.” says Brendan.
Ekstera is tackling one of industry’s biggest challenges: The enormous amount of waste heat generated by steel and cement production. While these sectors continue to electrify in an effort to reduce emissions, growing demand for clean electricity is placing increasing pressure on Canada’s power grid.
Their solution is both elegant and impactful.
Using patented Stirling engine generators, Ekstera converts industrial waste heat into clean, carbon-free electricity directly on-site. Instead of allowing valuable heat energy to escape into the atmosphere, their technology transforms it into affordable, reliable power, reducing carbon emissions while lowering operating costs for manufacturers.
Building on the success of its Phase 1 project, where the company successfully designed and tested a pilot-scale Stirling engine, this next phase will focus on scaling the technology and field-testing modular units at Gerdau’s steel mill in Cambridge, Ontario. The project will generate the technical and operational data needed to support widespread commercial adoption across steel mills and other industrial facilities.
Beyond the immediate impact on industrial energy efficiency, Ekstera’s innovation represents something much bigger. Their Made-in-Canada technology has the potential to strengthen Canada’s clean electricity capacity, support lower-carbon construction materials, enhance domestic clean-tech manufacturing, and improve the global competitiveness of Canada’s steel industry, all while helping address the critical challenges of energy affordability, energy security, and climate change.
Watching companies like Ekstera grow from promising startups into nationally recognized innovators is exactly why Spark Centre exists. Their success is a testament to visionary leadership, relentless innovation, and the determination to solve meaningful problems with world-changing technology.
From everyone at Spark Centre, congratulations to the entire Ekstera team on this outstanding achievement. Here’s to the next milestone and many more to come.
About Spark Centre
Spark Centre is Durham Region’s leading technology and innovation business incubator. We offer accessible entrepreneurship support to early-stage and growing technology and innovation ventures through advisory services, mentorship, funding connections, co-working space, educational programs, and ecosystem-building activities. Click here to learn more about our various program options!
