MaRS Announces Participants in the Second Mission from MaRS: Better Buildings Adoption Accelerator

TORONTO, April 28, 2026 – MaRS Discovery District today announced the six ventures selected to participate in the second cohort of its Mission from MaRS: Better Buildings Adoption Accelerator. The accelerator,aimed at decarbonizing the residential sector, is made possible by the Peter Gilgan Foundation.

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Canada’s residential buildings account for 47 percent of building sector emissions (not including electricity). Currently, approximately 54 percent of all homes rely on fossil fuels for space heating and close to half of all dwellings are more than 60 years old; many will require retrofits to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency. As Canada works to address both a housing shortage and its climate targets, demand for affordable, scalable and sustainable building solutions continues to accelerate.

Over the next nine months, the Better Buildings Adoption Accelerator will support six Canadian ventures as they commercialize and scale their building solutions. Participants will gain access to potential customers,introductions to domestic and international investors and exposure to capital and talent. Ventures may also be eligible for a special-purpose grant of $10,000 to $25,000 to support commercial projects.

“Addressing the housing crisis isn’t just about building new homes. It requires that we be intentional in how we leverage innovation to drive affordability and reduce emissions across both existing and next-generation buildings,” says Tyler Hamilton, senior director of climate at MaRS. “The ventures in this second cohort will play a critical role in shaping that future. Our goal is to set them up for success.”

“Climate challenges in Canada are deeply intertwined with housing and we all recognize that innovation is an essential lever to address both at once,” says Lucy Lu, program manager of Climate Change at the Peter Gilgan Foundation. “The ventures in this cohort are exactly the kind of companies ready to move the needle and MaRS has built a program that gives them an opportunity to scale and grow. The Peter Gilgan Foundation is proud to support their work and excited by what this second cohort will accomplish.”

Founders in the inaugural cohort report that this program has had a large impact on the trajectory of their businesses. “Our participation in the inaugural Mission from MaRS Better Buildings AdoptionAccelerator was a transformative experience for Cence Power,” says Bolis Ibrahim, president of Cence Power and a member of the first cohort. “The program provided us with a comprehensive technical report that critically validated our value proposition. Beyond this, the mentorship we received offered strategic guidance that reshaped our approach, while the market research reports gave us the intelligence needed to navigate the evolving landscape.”

The second Better Buildings Adoption Accelerator cohort participants include:

CURA Climate

CURA works with cement and concrete producers, developers and construction partners to integrate low-carbon lime into existing and new product lines for residential buildings.

Morgan Solar

Morgan Solar provides innovative hardware and software to the urban building and utility solar sectors.

PakVille

PakVille designs and manufactures next-generation modular buildings using its proprietary PakVert engineered panels, made from 100 percent recycled materials.

QEA Tech

QEA Tech digitizes building envelope inspections using drones equipped with high-resolution thermal and visual sensors.

RegenEAU

RegenEAU specializes in wastewater heat recovery systems that recycle heat from wastewater to preheat incoming clean water.

TwinGlaze

TwinGlaze addresses thermal inefficiency and energy losscaused by aging, single-pane windows with its high-performance window inserts.

To read about the ventures in the accelerator, click here.

About MaRS

MaRS Discovery District is a charitable organization and oneof North America’s largest urban innovation hubs, helping Canadian science and technology companies commercialize and scale. Building on a 25-year legacy of supporting founders, MaRS connects ventures with capital, customers, talent and expertise — through venture programming and partnerships, MaRS IAF (one of Canada’s most active seed-stage venture funds), MaRS Connect (a live digital marketplace linking commercially ready ventures with buyers, partners and sources of capital), and more than 1.5 million square feet of world-class lab, office and event space across the MaRS Centre and MaRS Waterfront in downtown Toronto. Since 2010, MaRS-supported ventures have generated $11.5 billion in cumulative revenue, raised $19 billion in funding and created and maintained more than 33,000 jobs. For more information, contact mfm@marsdd.com.

About the Peter Gilgan Foundation

The Peter Gilgan Foundation is a private family foundation that supports high-impact charitable initiatives that build a healthier, more prosperous, and more sustainable future. The Foundation funds across priority areas including climate change; Indigenous youth; international development; children, youth and families; and health care. Peter Gilgan Foundation’s partners are driving real, measurable impact in ensuring a strong future for people in Canada and beyond, and the Foundation is proud to support their work. For more information on the Foundation, its grant programs, and its partners, visit petergilganfoundation.org

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