Innovation Blast: Thursday, June 30, 2022
Here’s the latest on a wide range of innovation in the Edmonton region.
G2V Optics is simulating the sun for an upcoming NASA mission
G2V Optics has sent solar simulators to NASA to help test a spacecraft that aims to solve Earth’s growing space-junk problem. It’s the latest success in the Edmonton-based company’s evolution toward using its “Engineered Sunlight” technology to help aerospace organizations know what to expect from the sun once they get their devices into orbit.
“It’s a huge project, and … a fantastic feather in the cap of everybody in our team who worked on it,” G2V Optics CEO Ryan Tucker told Taproot. “And I think an awesome thing for Edmonton and our technology.”
The project, the culmination of a two-year procurement process, is for the testing of OSAM-1, a spacecraft that is scheduled to be launched in 2026 to service Landsat 7, a satellite that is past its prime. G2V has sent two large-area solar simulators, each about the size of a bus, to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland to help the OSAM-1 team anticipate the conditions under which their spacecraft will operate.
Despite G2V’s success in cracking this market and the investment-fuelled growth of space-data company Wyvern, Edmonton doesn’t have what Tucker would call a “space economy,” but he’s excited about the future.
“It just goes to show that companies like ours can work with the world-leading institutes, engineers, astronauts, and programs in aerospace,” he said.
Funding & Support for Entrepreneurship
- The soon-to-be-vacated third floor of the Mercer Warehouse will become the second Edmonton outpost of Work Nicer, the Calgary-based coworking company. Startup Edmonton, now an Innovate Edmonton program, is moving out of its home on 104 Street into Innovate Edmonton‘s new home at 10107 Jasper Ave. in the fall. “Innovation is a team game, and today’s announcements are a bit of a baton pass of our storied Mercer’s space to Work Nicer,” said Innovate Edmonton CEO Catherine Warren.
- Scription, which offers a software-as-a-service platform for equipment maintenance companies, took away the top prize at the fifth annual Startup TNT Investment Summit on June 23. Fellow Edmonton finalist Zero Point Cryogenics, which builds cryogen-free dilution refrigerators for quantum technologies, was offered a side deal at the event. Startup TNT said there’s potential for more side deals to be announced in the days ahead.
- The University of Alberta has named Riya Ganguly as its first Associate Vice-President in charge of enterprise. She will be responsible for generating strategic partnerships and revenue opportunities, as well as “promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship with the university and its external partners.”
- Edmonton-based venture capital firm Sprout.vc has invested in a health-tech communications company called Care2Talk, bringing the Victoria startup’s fundraise to $1 million.
Tech
- Local IT professional Aaron Hoyland spoke with CBC News about continuing to work from home after being forced into it by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’ve found it to be overwhelmingly positive,” he said, noting he saves time and money by not having a commute. “It’s going to be very, very difficult for companies to take that away.”
Climate Emergency & CleanTech
- RUNWITHIT Synthetics is a Western semi-finalist in the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge for 2022.
- Capital Power has partnered with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group and Kiewit Energy Group on a front-end engineering and design study for the Genesee carbon capture and sequestration project. The project is expected to capture 95% of the carbon dioxide emitted from the Genesee 1 and 2 natural gas units near Warburg in Leduc County, starting as early as 2027, the corporation said.
- Local home builder Butterwick is using 3D digital imaging to undertake panelized deep retrofits to help make single family homes more energy efficient. “As far as we know, this project’s the first time anyone has tried the approach on a single-family home in North America, and maybe even the world,” said Peter Amerongen, a director of Retrofit Canada’s board and partner at Butterwick.
Digital Inclusion & Education
- Strathcona County council has requested a report on potential rebate or grant programs to improve residential Internet services through the company Starlink Satellite, a satellite internet company owned by SpaceX.
- Edmonton Public Library and Innovate Edmonton announced Innovation U, a new partnership that includes a four-part series for aspiring entrepreneurs, alongside one-on-one advice from Innovate Edmonton CEO Catherine Warren as the inaugural Innovator in Residence. “Innovation is a team pursuit and we’re pleased to partner with the Edmonton Public Library to offer this one-of-a-kind public program and residency to inspire Edmontonians to explore their innovation potential,” said Warren. “As a tech entrepreneur and urban innovator, I’m especially excited to hear from Edmontonians and offer my support in taking the first steps on their entrepreneurial path—as we capitalize together on all the Library has to offer.”
Food Security & AgTech
- Alberta Innovates is investing $10 million over three years in the Agri-Food and Bioindustrial Innovation Program (ABIP) to support projects that “increase productivity, enhance competitiveness, boost the value of agriculture and forestry commodities, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.” The money is available to researchers and technology developers, with a continuous intake of applications.
- Edmonton’s green bin program was started in 2021 to divert tonnes of food waste from the landfill, but requiring people to separate organics from their trash may be a kind of public awareness campaign about the prevalence of food waste, says Neil Kjelland, Director of Sustainable Waste processing for the City.
Public Health
- Lenica Research Group announced a strategic partnership with Allegori, a neuroscience innovation company based in Trinidad and Tobago that measures and records electrical activity in the brain to customize online mindfulness and cognitive therapy sessions. Allegori will be integrating its EEG headsets with Lenica’s “Peak Health platform” to access a broader range of diagnostic and analytical tools. “This is the first of several key alliances we expect to unveil as Lenica expands the reach of its virtual cognitive therapeutic healthcare platform to promote better brain health and enhanced precision mindfulness,” said CEO Simba Nyazika, noting that his company now sees its data integration back end as its lead product, which unlocks many cross-collaboration opportunities.
- Chris Cairo and his research team at the University of Alberta have identified a group of enzymes that could help us better understand inflammation, and thus lead to new ways of treating it. The work out of the department of chemistry was supported by GlycoNet and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Arts & Culture
- Trent Oster of Beamdog told Techradar that he’d like to take another run at Neverwinter Nights, a “wildly ambitious” RPG that he directed at BioWare 20 years ago, pushing the company to its limits.
Bits & Pieces
- At Collision in Toronto, the A100 noted former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s praise for Canada’s AI startup scene as one of the most vibrant in the world and highlighted AltaML as a key player.
- Tara Mulrooney, Vice-President of Technology and Innovation at the Edmonton International Airport, has been appointed chair of the cyber security program for the ACI World IT Standing Committee (#WAITSC).
- Sturgeon County council has given first reading to the area structure plan for the Villeneuve Airport Area. The goal is to transform the lands surrounding the airport into “a world-leading investment and innovation hub.”
- The Alberta Business Awards of Distinction from the Alberta Chambers of Commerce recognized True North Valve Solutions, G2V Optics, Clavis Studio, Future Fields, and Insight Psychological of Edmonton; Fit + Fierce of St. Albert; Hair Mantra in Fort Saskatchewan.
Other Mentions
- Tiffany Linke-Boyko, the recently hired principal for Flying Fish Partners in Canada, spoke with Taproot Edmonton about why the firm landed in Edmonton and what lessons she is applying from previous stints at Startup Edmonton and We Know Training.
- Token Bitters founder and Innovation Growth Council member Keenan Pascal spoke to EDify about his company’s first physical storefront.
- Board member and AltaML Co-Founder and co-CEO Nicole Janssen spoke with CityNews about her company’s efforts to bring a female perspective to its work. “Our company focused on making sure we have diversity. I do believe that females coming up need to see a strong female in control and at the top because then they can see themselves there,” she said.
This Blast is brought to you by Innovate Edmonton in partnership with Taproot Publishing.