Innovation Blast: Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021
Here’s the latest on a wide range of innovation in the Edmonton region. Feel free to share it and let us know how we can improve the Blast. As we break for the holiday season, keep an eye out for the next edition of the Innovation Blast on the week of January 3rd, 2022. Let’s begin!
Alberta-invented carbon-capturing material could help reduce emissions and costs
A CO2-capturing microporous material that attracts gas molecules and sees them stick to its surface could help Alberta’s energy industry reduce emissions and costs.
The material, called Calgary framework-20 (CALF-20), could be used at industrial-scale thanks to the work of a research team from the University of Alberta.

“In Alberta we sequester close to two to three million tonnes of CO2 every year and we have become a world leader in this technology because we have some of the biggest demonstration facilities in the entire world,” said U of A engineering researcher Arvind Rajendran.
“The big advantage in CALF-20 is that it works under practical conditions for thousands of hours, where almost all other previous developments did not.”
The innovations that have made this commercialization possible come as the Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB is ramping up to upgrade natural gas into hydrogen for use as a low-carbon fuel.
Funding & Support for Entrepreneurship
- The University of Alberta Health Hub & Accelerator, which will be rebranded next month as the Health Innovation Hub, grew by more 48% in the last year and is constantly fielding new inquiries from health-tech entrepreneurs who want to join.
- Edmonton-based PainWorth and Wetaskiwin-based Advance Harvest are the recipients of Alberta Central’s Big Future Innovation Grant. Each will receive $25,000 to support growth and innovation.
- RWI Synthetics and HRing are among the finalists for the Goodwill Project, a competition for free office space from CommAlert Group. The winners will be announced next month.
- A year after professor Michael Houghton received the Nobel Prize in Physiology, the University of Alberta’s alumni magazine New Trail looked at how having a Nobel laureate can help attract students, researchers, and funding.
Technology
- IoT hardware from Nanoprecise Sci Corp is now certified for use in hazardous/explosive atmospheres and complies with international standards aimed at helping to prevent any loss of life or equipment operations.
CleanTech & Climate Emergency
- AdvEn Industries Inc., which is building the “electrochemical platform of the future,” has received a $1 million investment from Canadian Nexus Team Ventures. The company is expected to seek a NASDAQ listing in 2022.
- The federal government is investing $730,000 into Killam Properties SGP to install 438 electric vehicle (EV) chargers at multi-unit residences in Alberta and other provinces. The chargers are intended to encourage the adoption of EV and will be available next fall.
- The Alberta Electric System Operator is implementing a new simplified grid alert notification process starting Jan. 1 to “let Albertans know when the power system is being challenged and steps they can take to conserve power.”
Digital Inclusion & Education
- The federal government will match the Government of Alberta’s $150 million commitment to improve access to high-speed internet in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities throughout the province.
Food Security & AgTech
- The CubicFarms Alberta Grow Centre, located just outside of Edmonton, currently has 14 CubicFarm System modules growing butter lettuce, a romaine mix, a spring trio, and microgreens year-round.
Public Health
- People in Edmonton with opioid use disorder can now connect to the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VOPD) through local fire stations to find appropriate medical treatments. Emergency response representatives were also involved in the development of the Digital Overdose Response System (DORS), a mobile app designed to help protect Albertans from a fatal overdose, accessible through VOPD.
- The University of Alberta has partnered with the Ontario Health Research Institute and the Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre in Ottawa on automating the “fill and finish process” at the end of manufacturing a vaccine or other liquid drug, a stage that is often contracted out to companies in the United States or Europe.
- An agreement between the University of Alberta and Tribal Chiefs Ventures Inc. will see more Indigenous doctors trained. The goal of this effort is to improve health care in Indigenous communities in northern Alberta.
Bits & Pieces
- Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and the last municipal election drew the most attention to Edmonton on Twitter this year. According to data released by the social media company, Edmonton was mentioned the most on Oct. 19, the day after Sohi was elected mayor.
- Bitcoin Well has appointed Allen D. Stephen as its new chief financial officer.
- JudyLynn Archer, Frances Harley, John Mah, Holger Petersen, and Cyril Kay are the Edmontonians honoured with the Alberta Order of Excellence for their contributions to the community.
- Jasen Kerr is fixing old video game consoles and giving them out to families in need in the Edmonton-area during the holiday season. He accepts donations of old consoles, controllers, computers, etc. — this year, he performed the labour of love on around 30 items.
- Project Joy, which helps seniors’ access to technology, is running its second annual device drive at London Drugs from Dec. 14 to Jan. 3. Albertans are asked to drop off used tablets or smartphones at any store location.
Mentions
- Innovate Edmonton CEO Catherine Warren posted about attending F***Up Night. The event, held on Dec. 16, featured industry pros and their stories and the lessons they’ve learned.
- Social Awareness Group — an organization that includes Naheyawin’s Jacquelyn Cardinal — is hiring a manager of relations.
- Innovate Edmonton posted new innovator stories for its It Starts With One campaign, running through until the end of January 2022.
- Ashlyn Bernier, COO of Samdesk and Innovate Edmonton board member, re-posted a new position at the global disruption monitoring company.
- Sandra Stabel — VP of innovation at HelpSeeker Technologies and an Innovation Growth Council Member — posted about completing the Financial Feminist Investment Lab program.
The Blast is curated by Taproot Publishing and published by Innovate Edmonton.