A startup company co-founded by Waterloo Engineering professor Michael Pope recently won $25,000 in seed funding in a pitch competition meant to encourage Canadian innovation.
Evercloak, a cleantech startup that specializes in manufacturing ultra-thin graphene and other 2D nanomaterial films, took first place in the environment and electrification development category of the Ontario Power Generation Ignite contest.
Pope, a chemical engineering professor, is chief technology officer of the company, which received backing from the Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo).
Its chief executive officer is Evelyn Allen, who is one of six women entrepreneurs across Canada in the running for a $1-million prize in the Women in Cleantech Challenge funded by Natural Resources Canada and the MaRS Discovery District.
The films produced by Evercloak have applications in water purification, energy storage, corrosion prevention, sensing and smart packaging.