Innovation Blast: Thursday, Apr 28, 2022
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. Let’s begin!
Edmonton International Airport goes all-in on hydrogen
The Edmonton International Airport (EIA) has announced several agreements and initiatives that position it as “a significant driver of demand for hydrogen fuel” and “a new home for piloting emerging hydrogen technologies.”
“We are very excited to work with local and international partners to build the growing hydrogen economy in the Edmonton Metro Region, using our Airport City Sustainability Campus as a magnet to attract investment, create jobs and stimulate economic growth,” said Myron Keehn, Vice President of Air Service, Business Development, ESG, and Government Relations at EIA.
Among the announcements:
- EIA is working with Toyota Canada to adopt the company’s Mirai hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles.
- FirstElement Fuel will launch its first hydrogen fueling infrastructure in Canada at the airport
- EIA will launch a fleet of hydrogen buses built by Letenda
- SBI BIOENERGY and EIA will work together to develop sustainable aviation fuel using modular hydrogen production stations
- A collaboration with Veteran Express Secure Logistics (VEXSL) will see diesel trucks retrofitted to run on low-carbon hydrogen up to 40% of the time
The announcements were made in conjunction with the Canadian Hydrogen Convention, which was held in Edmonton from April 26-28.
Funding & Support for Entrepreneurship
- San Francisco-based GrowthX has announced the launch of the Alberta Innovates Revenue Accelerator. The 16-week program is a partnership between GrowthX and Alberta Innovates with a focus on helping founders acquire customers and grow revenue. An information session on the accelerator will take place on May 4.
- The A100 has announced the ten tech startups selected to take part in the 2022 AccelerateAB Roundtables on May 12, a learning opportunity connecting scaling and growth-stage Alberta companies with experienced A100 members. Participating Edmonton-based startups include Awele, Clavis Studio, Fly and Fetch, and ZipStall.
- Tickets are on sale now ($25) for AccelerateAB Backstage, which offers an opportunity to “go behind the scenes of some of the most innovative companies in Alberta.” Local companies participating include AltaML, DrugBank, ElectionBuddy, Inflexion Games, Jobber, samdesk, and Serious Labs. The event takes place on May 12.
- The Government of Canada is currently accepting applications for the WES Inclusive Women Venture Capital Initiative. Non-profits looking to foster connections, cultivate networks, and provide resources, training, and mentorship to address barriers for women in the venture capital environment can apply. An information session on the initiative will happen on May 10.
- Applications are open for the Pow Wow Pitch. This pitch competition is open to all Indigenous entrepreneurs for a chance to win $200,000 in prizes. The journey starts with submitting a 1-minute pitch before June 21.
- The Small Business Information Expo, hosted by Public Services and Procurement Canada is taking place on May 17. Women-owned or led small businesses are invited to tune-in for a free virtual expo featuring subject matter experts from over 30 support programs.
Tech
- Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) CEO Cam Linke has joined Canada’s Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence, which consists of high-profile leaders in Canada’s AI community. “It is only through interdisciplinary collaboration and open dialogue that we can ensure AI advancement provides benefit to all,” Linke said.
- Bitcoin Well CEO Adam O’Brien spoke with Alberta Impact about the future of cryptocurrency, the decentralization of bitcoin, and the growth of his company. O’Brien also appeared on Real Talk with Ryan Jespersen, as the Alberta Tech Symposium wrapped up in Calgary on April 22, to discuss the digital revolution.
- Ventrify is riding high on a client’s crowdfunding success for the dog-treat dispenser it helped turn into a reality.
Climate Emergency & CleanTech
- The province will invest $50 million to create a new Hydrogen Centre of Excellence to drive innovation in the production and use of hydrogen across the economy and to support entrepreneurs building hydrogen technologies. Alberta Innovates said the centre of excellence will operate from existing facilities and corporate offices in both Edmonton and Calgary. Research, testing, piloting, and validation facilities will be housed at C-FER Technologies located near the Edmonton Research Park.
- Alberta Innovates has published a report on the technological innovation needed for the broad commercial deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in Alberta. Alberta Innovates and Emissions Reduction Alberta have invested around $140 million in over 100 CCUS projects over the past 25 years, the organization said.
- Invest Alberta, Ontario’s EnerTech Capital, and the California Mobility Center (CMC) — an American nonprofit that helps accelerate early-stage startups — have signed an MOU to identify investment opportunities and increase collaboration in the advanced mobility sector, which includes electric vehicles (EVs).
- [Re] Waste said it has created “the world’s first” recycled plastic product made completely from cannabis plastic packaging. The container, called “The Canna Bin,” is made from about 600 containers and weighs 34 pounds. “Together, we have diverted over 100,000 containers that are destined for landfills or littered in our environment,” shared founder and CEO Corey Saban. Bins will be available to order starting next month.
- The ONEC Group of Companies has announced it has created a five-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) modular building that can provide emergency power by using an alkaline fuel cell and industrial-grade hydrogen to supply clean, emissions-free power. The company’s first units, completed last November, were transported to an ATCO Power site in Nisku for a one-year pilot.
- St. Albert-based Enterprise Group has announced the launch of a new subsidiary company called Evolution Power Projects Inc. as a low-carbon power systems provider, designing and delivering electrical microgrids powered by natural gas.
Digital Inclusion & Education
- The Alberta Innovates High School Youth Researcher Summer Program (HYRS) is seeking hosts from a variety of health and medical science areas, including those in digital health, data-enabled health transformation, and health innovation to provide research experience for six weeks in the summer to grade 11 students from across Alberta.
- In the State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2022 report, it found that despite facing an array of challenges and systemic barriers, diverse women entrepreneurs have demonstrated incredible resilience, ingenutiy, and a distinct ability to innovate amid uncertainty.
Food Security & Agtech
- Startup Edmonton Co-Founder Ken Bautista finds himself in “founder-entrepreneur mode” again with The Public Food Hub, a startup that connects food lovers to food makers. “I’ve always been really interested in place and community and entrepreneurship and technology,” he told Faaiza Ramji on Episode 12 of Bloom, a podcast about innovation in Edmonton.
- Kelowna-based INCA Renewable Technologies will build a 200,000-square-foot hemp processing facility in Vegreville adjacent to InnoTech Alberta‘s research facility for hemp composites, genomics, and agronomics.
Public Health
- The Edmonton Kidney Transplant Program has transformed 49 lives in a record number of kidney transplants thanks to the generosity of donors who have participated in the living donor programs. Local companies working to improve the quantity and success of organ transplants include Tevosol, which makes machines that support the transport of organs, and PanTHERA CryoSolutions, which makes technology to support the storage of cells.
- The Alberta Cancer Foundation has launched its campaign We Cross Cancer to raise $30 million to support innovation and research at the Cross Cancer Institute. Among other impacts, the funding would allow for a doubling in the number of patients put on clinical trials every year, from 500 to 1,000.
- Health Cities CEO Reg Joseph spoke with Dr. Christy Raymond, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at MacEwan University, about the role of post-secondaries in innovation and technology in health.
Social Impact
- The University of Alberta was ranked 11th in the fourth annual Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which lists 1,400 institutions in order of their contribution to the UN’s 17 sustainability targets for 2030.
Arts & Culture
- Harcourt House is featuring the work of Colton Hash in his new digital art show, Synoptic Transitions: Digital Perspectives of the Anthropocene, which opened April 22.
Bits & Pieces
- Negotiations are now underway for the sale of two buildings at the Edmonton Research Park Business Consortium, a community of tech and life sciences companies operating at the park, over the objections of some tenants.
- Alberta Innovates CEO Laura Kilcrease was featured on Rainforest Alberta’s Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast where she spoke about the upcoming Inventures conference that will bring together investors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders. Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters, will be speaking at the conference about how to re-gather “as we enter the next normal.”
- Denise Man has been appointed Chief Technology Officer of Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). She leads the Business Technology team, working to serve clients more efficiently by spearheading the development of new products and technologies.
- John Zhou has been named Chief Cleantech Officer for Alberta Innovates, adding to his existing role of vice president of clean resources.
- Ron Sulatyky has joined Health Cities as Senior Advisor for the Health Analytics and Diagnostics Cluster to help companies navigate the ecosystem and form connections.
Other Mentions
- Innovate Edmonton CEO Catherine Warren met with Estonian Ambassador Toomas Lukk this week. Among the topics of discussion was Estonia’s story as a digital nation and their welcoming environment for startups, notably the e-residency program.
The Blast is curated by Taproot Publishing and published by Innovate Edmonton.