Calgary, AB and Toronto, ON — Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, the Avatar Leadership Fund, Spring Impact Capital, and The Atmospheric Fund have invested in Variablegrid, a Canadian company enabling cost-effective, scalable electric vehicle (EV) charging in buildings with limited electrical capacity.
Alberta Ecotrust and The Atmospheric Fund are members of Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3), and this collaboration reflects the network’s role in helping local climate solutions scale nationally. This investment supports municipal and national priorities in clean transportation, building electrification, and grid modernization. At a time of economic and trade uncertainty, coordination among several organizations shows how Canadian investors can help domestic cleantech companies grow and scale across Canada.
Variablegrid optimizes EV charging by managing household loads within the home or building’s existing electrical capacity. This enables property owners to install more chargers without costly electrical upgrades—removing a key barrier to EV adoption, reducing strain on electricity systems, and supporting Canada’s transition to low‑carbon buildings.
Variablegrid’s technology is deployed in homes and buildings across Canada, where it has saved customers more than $5.5 million in avoided electrical upgrade costs. A national master distribution agreement with Kia Canada, with more than 90 per cent of Kia’s EV dealerships registered on the platform, demonstrates strong commercial traction and growing market demand.
A national investment model accelerating climate solutions
“The federal government is helping make EVs an accessible choice for Canadians by supporting the development of charging infrastructure. Innovative projects like, Variablegrid are quickly breaking down barriers for Canadians to adopt EVs. Collaboration across governments, communities and industry is essential to achieving a clean, low-carbon economy.” — Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature.
“Variablegrid is exactly the kind of commercially promising climate solution that we can help scale through the LC3 Network collaboration. By combining local market knowledge with aligned capital, we can help Canadian companies grow while addressing practical climate challenges in our communities.” — Sid Roy, Investments Director, Alberta Ecotrust
“We are pleased to support the world class team at Variablegrid and are energized by their ability to unlock material bottlenecks to electrification,” said “We are also thrilled to have joined this expert group of investors in catalyzing Variablegrid’s exciting next stage of growth.” — Bryan Trudel, Managing Partner, Avatar Leadership Fund
“As electricity demand grows, we see real value in unlocking more capacity from existing infrastructure. Variablegrid makes electrical systems smarter and more flexible, without costly upgrades. With strong commercial traction and partners like Kia Canada, Variablegrid has the technology and market opportunity to become a key player in distributed energy management. We’re excited to lead this round and support the team as they scale.” — Olivia Hornby, Managing Partner, Spring Impact Capital
“The future of transportation is electric – and businesses like Variablegrid are stepping up to enable more Canadians to access EVs. Our joint investment in Variablegrid will help consumers save on costs and lower system costs by reducing demand on local electricity grids.” — Kristian Knibutat, VP Impact Investing, The Atmospheric Fund
“When someone buys an EV, they are making the largest energy decision of their life, and the first question is always the same, can I charge at home? Our job is to make the answer yes. No upgrade, no waiting, and no need to ever think about how many kilowatts their wires can carry. We take care of all of it, so drivers just plug in. This investment helps us bring that experience to EV buyers across Canada, starting with our Kia Canada partnership.” — Dan Lafferty, CEO and Co-Founder, Variablegrid
Background information
- Alberta Ecotrust, The Atmospheric Fund, Spring Impact Capital and the Avatar Leadership Funds invested in Variablegrid as part of their oversubscribed seed round. The investment will primarily support delivery of Variablegrid’s partnership with Kia Canada, while enabling scaling of operations, customer support, and core research and development.
- Variablegrid’s AI-enabled power management systems support Level 2 EV charging in capacity-constrained buildings, homes, and fleet applications, reducing the need for costly electrical upgrades.
- Variablegrid’s technology directly supports municipal climate plans in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and other Canadian cities. It also aligns with federal priorities related to EV adoption, building decarbonization, and grid flexibility.
About Alberta Ecotrust Foundation
Alberta Ecotrust Foundation is a non-profit organization advancing environmental and climate solutions across Alberta. It collaborates with diverse partners from government, industry, non-profits, and Indigenous communities to create a future where both people and nature thrive. Since 1991, Alberta Ecotrust has mobilized resources, delivered innovative programs, and supported impactful projects that protect and restore natural ecosystems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build community resilience.
About Avatar Leadership Fund
Anchored by a lead investment from Cenovus Energy Inc. and supported by family offices and investors across Canada, the Avatar Ventures Leadership Fund provides early-stage risk capital to the most promising companies emerging from Avatar Studio, and a select few external startups. Its goal is to bridge the funding gap for promising energy transition technologies and accelerate Canada’s decarbonization leadership. www.avatarinnovations.energy
About Low Carbon Cities Canada
Alberta Ecotrust and The Atmospheric Fund are members of the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) Network. LC3 supports cities and communities in reaching their carbon emissions reduction potential. This initiative is implemented in partnership among seven local Centres and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Funded by a Government of Canada endowment through FCM, LC3 is part of a national investment in municipal climate action to accelerate urban climate solutions and to help achieve Canada’s climate goal of net-zero by 2050.
About Spring Impact Capital
Spring Impact Capital is an early-stage Canadian venture capital firm that invests in high-impact climate and healthcare technology startups. The firm targets pre-seed and seed-stage Canadian companies driving scalable environmental and social outcomes across planetary health, human health, and sustainable industry modernization.
About Variablegrid
Variablegrid Adaptive Power Inc. is the intelligence layer for electrified homes and buildings. Its patented Adaptive Power Management platform measures available electrical capacity in real time and orchestrates EV charging and every other load on the panel, with no electrical service upgrade. Variablegrid helps automakers and their dealer networks deliver a seamless home charging experience, while turning connected homes into flexible assets for electricity utilities. Variablegrid was named one of Canada’s Top Moonshot Ventures™ by NACO in 2026 and selected to the 2025 Foresight 50 as one of Canada’s most investible cleantech ventures.
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