A Houston startup that turns industrial waste heat into electricity has closed a $100 million Series A round, handing board control to a pair of investors betting that rising power costs and grid constraints will push manufacturers toward on-site generation.
Kanin Energy announced Tuesday that S2G Investments and Canada Growth Fund each committed up to $50 million in equity—part of a structured financing arrangement that mirrors how infrastructure funds have increasingly approached cleantech deals. The company, which operates waste-heat-to-power systems at facilities ranging from cement kilns to gas compressor stations, declined to disclose its valuation. It currently has roughly 50 megawatts of capacity either under construction or already producing power.
The financing reflects a broader shift in how industrial facilities think about electricity. "Rising electricity prices and grid reliability constraints are pushing manufacturers to look beyond utility power," said Marisa Sweeney, a principal at S2G, in a statement accompanying the announcement. Kanin installs equipment that captures exhaust heat and converts it into electricity using Organic Rankine Cycle turbines, then sells that power back to the host facility under long-term contracts priced below retail rates. The industrial customer avoids the upfront capital expense; Kanin owns and operates the equipment.
According to the company, up to 58 percent of the energy consumed in industrial processes escapes as waste heat. CEO Janice Tran, who previously helped build a large anaerobic digestion portfolio at Generate Capital before co-founding Kanin in 2020, framed the pitch plainly: "Industrial facilities already hold the solution to their own energy challenges; they just need the right partner to execute."
S2G deployed the capital through its Structured Finance strategy, a vehicle the firm uses for infrastructure-like investments. Canada Growth Fund, a C$15 billion federal investment arm managed by PSP Investments, matched the commitment. "Investing in scalable cleantech solutions strengthens Canada's economy and helps create new, reliable power for heavy industries," said Yannick Beaudoin, the fund's president and CEO.
The company has named customers and live projects. Kanin has delivered power to the University of Dayton through a 15-year purchase agreement involving AES Ohio and Tallgrass, a project the university said would cut its carbon footprint by more than 70 percent. The startup also announced a 7-megawatt system at Phillips 66's Mewbourn Gas Processing Complex in Platteville, Colorado, with construction expected to start later in 2026. An earlier agreement with Tallgrass covers four waste-heat projects totaling more than 48 megawatts across Ohio and Indiana.
Kanin's leadership reads like a Generate Capital reunion of sorts. Co-founder and chief development officer Dan Fipke previously worked at the Alberta Electric System Operator and Alberta Energy, bringing knowledge of Canadian power markets. CFO John Dannan also came from Generate. The team is navigating a market where established players like Ormat Technologies, Turboden (owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), and Exergy (a TICA subsidiary) already supply ORC systems to industrial customers.
The new capital will fund expansion targeting oil and gas midstream facilities, cement plants, steel mills, and metals processing sites across North America. Axios Pro reported that investors now hold board seats, though the company did not disclose the full board composition. Kanin previously secured an undisclosed credit facility from PaceZero Capital Partners, adding another layer of financing to support project buildout.
The deal underscores how niche cleantech categories—waste heat recovery, biogas, even on-site hydrogen—are attracting structured finance typically reserved for telecom towers or renewable energy farms. Whether the economics hold at scale remains an open question, but for now, the model appears to have found its backers.
