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Conditions for Success: Inspiring a Culture of Innovative Leadership
An interview with SPARK panelist, Brian Vaasjo It takes more than a good idea to advance a carbon positive solution or for a company to go commercial. Accelerating technology to reduce cost and find commercial value is a bit like a “Rubik’s Cube” according to Brian Vaasjo, President & CEO, Capital Power. It requires innovative…
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Scaling Cleantech 2.0: Continuing a Globe Capital Conversation
An interview with SPARK facilitator, Carol-Ann Brown What are the barriers and gaps to financing the scale-up and growth of clean technologies? That question was top of mind for a group of investors, governments, accelerators, cleantech companies, and others during a February 2019 workshop hosted at Globe Capital 2019: Financing the 21st Century. Designed and…
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Scaling up: Going from the garage to global markets
An interview with SPARK panelist, Brett Henkel An idea born out of a garage has become the world’s first pilot-scale plant using structured adsorbents to capture carbon from a once-through steam generator for use in heavy oil recovery. Svante (formerly Inventys Thermal Technologies), supported by funding from ERA, has installed a 30-tonne per day pilot…
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Driving change is “not a single-threaded problem”
An interview with SPARK panelist, James McLean For nearly 20 years, James McLean has worked and consulted across North America and Europe. He has led numerous strategic projects in various industries including energy, chemicals, and the industrial product sector. A partner in the Consulting and Deals practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, he has helped drive change,…
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Testing facilities help advance carbon positive technologies
An interview with SPARK panelist, Harold Krenkel Interest in carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies (CCUS) is growing around the world, and Alberta is positioning itself as a leader in this space. The Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre (ACCTC), currently housing the finalists from the NRG COSIA Carbon XPPRIZE competition, is one example. The test…
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Framing a Carbon Positive Discussion
An interview with SPARK facilitator, Chad Park There are many factors that shape people’s understanding of climate and carbon issues: approaches to addressing challenges, controversies about the health and wellbeing of communities, market access and economic activities. Energy Futures Lab (EFL) convenes different groups from different backgrounds in dialogue to help find common ground in…
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Carbon Creativity: Turning A Problem Into a Solution
An interview with SPARK speaker, Apoorv Sinha In less than 5 short years, Carbon Upcycling Technologies went from a non-existent company to the youngest CO2 utilization company to start generating commercial revenue. Formed in direct response to ERA’s Grand Challenge, the Calgary-based start-up uses CO2 emissions to enhance everyday materials like concrete, plastics, and batteries.…
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Canadian technologies can help decarbonize emissions around the world
As the Manager of Technology and Innovation for Canadian Natural, and a co-owner of a clean technology energy start-up, Meera Nathwani-Crowe is uniquely positioned in Alberta’s innovation system. On one hand, she is trying to get a business off the ground. On the other, she works for a large oil and gas company that creates…
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Q&A with Steve MacDonald: CEO
What was the biggest highlight from 2018?If I had to pick just one thing, I would say our Oil Sands Innovation Challenge was the biggest highlight. These technologies have the potential to significantly reduce the footprint of oil sands production in Alberta. Also, we challenged applicants to bring forward projects that would cut carbon and…
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Q&A with Mark Summers: Executive Director, Technology and Innovation
You have a complex and comprehensive portfolio—what does ERA invest in and why? We know good ideas can come from anywhere. So, we can and do fund a broad range of innovators, from large industries to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research organizations, and municipalities. The portfolio represents a range of technologies, and what unifies…
