Two companies based on the west coast of Canada were just recognized by the World Economic Forum for valuable contributions to their respective industries.
The renowned global NGO listed Ideon Technologies and Miru on this year’s list of the world’s top 100 technology pioneers, released on Monday. The selected companies were chosen from 28 countries.
“Reflecting wider shifts in the innovation landscape, many of the companies spotlighted are using artificial intelligence to reach greater scale and sophistication with fewer resources,” the WEF stated in its news release on the matter.
The first Vancouver-based startup to be named, Ideon, uses a technology called cosmic-ray muon tomography to enable mining companies to pinpoint critical minerals deep underground. It measures particles that descend from space (muons) and pass through the soil to accurately create 3D maps of resources beneath the surface, in a nutshell, with the help of AI.
“Several are venturing into less explored frontiers – from asteroid mining and flying electric taxis, to leveraging satellite imagery to transform agriculture and harnessing energy from supernova explosions to locate critical minerals beneath the Earth’s surface [Ideon],” the WEF added.
Pacific Economic Development Canada gave Ideon C$2.7 million last fall to commercialize its critical mineral mapping technology. In 2023, the company made Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 list for its revenue growth and achievements.
“Ideon’s technology minimizes environmental impact by reducing the amount of drilling and invasive activity usually required to understand mineral deposits, voids and other geological features deep underground,” said PacifiCan in a news release on Oct. 11.
Major mining companies like Teck Resources Ltd (TSE: TECK.A) (NYSE: TECK) (FRA: TEKB), BHP Group Ltd (NYSE: BHP) and Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) (FRA: CVLC) use Ideon’s tech to assist with their mining processes.
Ideon has been leading the Earth X-Ray for Low Impact Mining initiative since late 2021.
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Miru’s smart windows can help save the environment & $
The second company, Miru, has created an “electrochromic window” (eWindow) solution that can precisely regulate how much heat is enabled to pass through it. This enables companies to reduce the energy costs in their buildings by up to 20 per cent and can make an electric vehicle battery charge last 10 per cent longer.
The windows “deliver high functionality, experience and energy efficiency for the automotive, transportation and architectural sectors,” as described by the WEF.
Miru raised C$27 million in a Series A financing round led by the Business Development Bank of Canada last summer.
The energy efficiency startup says its smart windows can potentially eliminate up to 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide annually. Their development took a decade, approximately.
Miru’s employee roster at its demonstration plant in Mount Pleasant, Vancouver has been steadily growing.
The World Economic Forum has been producing a list of technology pioneers for the past 25 years.
Read more: NevGold pulls up even more promising antimony grades from Nevada property
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