Green lighting green innovation — Smartricity secures $1 million in funding

Canadian industrial electric motor company Smartricity, just raised $1 million from industry and strategic investors.

With this funding, the company plans to double the number of employees by the first quarter, focusing on local hires. They are also in the final stages of completing a test and research facility for electric motor testing right here in Canada.

This is the first of its kind for Canada’s electric motor industry, with a focus on fault prediction analysis and renewable energy. It’s also good news considering the total demand for energy use in industrial motors will more than double by 2040, notes Smartricity CEO Michael Sonsogno.

“This will be one of the most advanced electric motor and sensor development facilities of its kind in Canada and possibly in the world,” Sonsogno says.

“We’re proud to be an industry leader in this space, pushing Canada’s green energy future-forward. This country has built more wind energy in the last decade or so than any other form of power. That’s energizing more than 3 million homes from coast to coast.”

This new test and research facility will be located in Halton Hills, Ontario and is expected to be completed in the fall. It will provide the necessary testing grounds for Smartricity to make improvements to their motor designs and IoT systems.

“Ultimately, this testing will enable us to make smarter predictions for electric motors that can detect faults in electric motor systems  up to 90 days in advance with 98% accuracy. This software makes electric motors more effective and easier to maintain,” Sonsogno explains.

“With cutting-edge machine learning and AI-based software that focuses on motor predictability, our wind turbine operators can effectively reduce downtime from wind power operations. This will ensure wind power operators aren’t just blowing hot air. They’re really producing the power that Canadians need, when they need it.”

While other motor and sensor manufacturers look to China and other overseas producers to reduce costs, Smartricity keeps its Canadian focus as a strategic advantage. “Since the pandemic, the cost of shipping a motor from China has gone up 10 times compared to what had been regular pricing,” Sonsogno says.

Smartricity also utilizes motors with more environmentally-friendly materials. Their current Ventium Wind Pitch System utilizes a rare-earth magnet free Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) design. This reduces the need to rely on environmentally destructive mining and processing operations in countries that do not have a commitment to environmentally friendly manufacturing.

ABOUT SMARTRICITY

Founded in 2016, Smartricity is a smart industrial electric motor company and true predictive maintenance cleantech company. Driven by efficient energy production, this company aims to reduce global emissions.