Excerpt from Cool Companies www.coolcompanies.ca By Claudia Sammer
– General (below)
– Solar Power
– BioEnergy
– Clean Transportation
– Fuel Cells
– Industrial Applications
– Green Buildings
– Waste & Recycling
– Air & CO2 Reduction
– Water
– Oil Sands
Alberta Innovates
Alberta Innovates is Alberta’s major provincial research and innovation system bringing technology from the lab to market. It offers research and funding opportunities for technology companies, including:
AVAC
AVAC Ltd. invests in promising early-stage businesses focused on value added agribusiness, renewable energy, environmental technologies, agricultural bio-products and nanotechnology. AVAC has invested in and provided guidance to more than 110 early-stage companies including Synodon (p.44) and Highmark Renewables (p.16). Contact: www.avacltd.com Calgary: 403.274.2774, Edmonton: 780.485.2411
CETAC-WEST helps companies develop and commercialize new cleantech and environmental technologies.
Contact: www.cetacwest.com, 403.777.9586
Climate Change Central
Climate Change Central is a non-profit organization that empowers Albertans to take action on climate change through energy efficiency and small scale renewable energy projects. It provides education, consumer rebate programs and demonstration projects. The organization has also been instrumental in the collective effort of developing a provincial carbon market, the first in Canada.
Contact: www.climatechangecentral.com, Simon Knight, CEO, 403.517.2700
Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC)
With $186 million in funding, each May and August CCEMC (more p.74) looks for proposals from companies for innovative projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help Alberta adapt to climate change. The companies don’t need to be Alberta based but the projects must apply technology in Alberta. Companies that have received CCEMC funding include Evergreen Energy (p.37) and May-Ruben Thermal Solutions (p.43), Enerkem (p.55) and ENMAX (pp.11, 31).
Contact: www.ccemc.ca, Kirk Andries, Managing Director, 780.417.1920
NRC Industrial Research Assistance (NRC-IRAP)
Through technical and business advisory and financial assistance, this Canada-wide program supports small and medium-sized companies in Canada in the development of technologies and their successful commercialize in a global marketplace. IRAP has helped many companies profiled in this book including Motive Industries (p.27).
Contact: www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irap.html, 1.877.994.4727
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC)
SDTC helps to finance and support clean technology projects through two key funds. SDTech Fund ($550 million) supports the critical middle development stage between research and commercialization. NextGen Biofuels Fund ($500 million) supports large scale projects for the production of next generation renewable fuels. Profiled companies with SDTC funding include Highmark Renewables (p.16), Whitefox Technologies (p.17), Lancaster Wind Systems (p.21), Wind Smart (p.22), New Energy (p.25), Quantiam (p.43), Synodon (p.44) and Titanium (p.73).
Contact: www.sdtc.ca, 613.234.6313
NanoBridge
NanoBridge has $6.4 million to fund early-stage commercialization of microsystems and nanotechnology opportunities.
Contact: www.nanobridge.ca, Dr. Eric Flaim, 780.709.3742
NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT)
NINT can assist companies with nanotechnology or advanced material projects by providing access to research expertise and commercialization support.
There are also funding sources available.
Contact: http://nint-innt.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca, 780.641.1600
Pembina Institute
This Canadian think-tank works to advance sustainable and renewable energy through innovative research, education, consulting and advocacy.
Contact: www.pembinainstitute.org, 780.485.9610, 403.269.3344
Regional Innovation Network System
Coordinated by TECEdmonton (www.TECedmonton.com, 780.492.8977, 1.888.492.8977), this is a one-stop place to find the right business and technical resources that help companies transform technological ideas into business opportunities:
WADE Canada (Canada’s Alliance for Decentralized Energy)
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), we lose 10% of our electricity when it travels from a power plant through transmission and distribution lines. Globally that loss would have powered Germany, the UK and France in 1999 (IEA)—it’s a very big waste. An old idea that’s new again and growing is creating, using and storing heating, cooling and/or electricity where it’s used, such as renewable energy used to power a house, biomass used to heat several buildings (p.14), and cogeneration used by an industrial operation that generates its own electricity and recovers the waste heat for increased efficiency (p.40). WADE Canada is an industry association that is increasing decentralized energy capacity by bridging the gap between market demand and optimum technology solutions.
Contact: www.wadecanada.ca, Anouk Kendall, President, 403.210.53
Alberta Council of Technologies (ABCtech)
Helping diversify Alberta’s economy, ABCtech demystifies and advances the commercialization of emerging technologies. It commissions industry status reports and conducts conferences, some of which have led to new industry associations such as the Alberta CleanTech Industry Alliance, the Alberta Cell Therapy Alliance, and the Alberta/Canada Fusion Energy Program.
Contact: www.ABCtech.ca, Perry Kinkaide. 780.990.5874, 1.866.241.7535
Alberta CleanTech Industry Alliance (ACTIA)
Formed in 2010, ACTIA is an alliance of businesses and cleantech associations contributing to the development of Alberta’s cleantech industry by addressing the industry needs for marketing, financing and advocacy leadership.
Contact: www.ABCtech.ca, Peter Lehner, plehner@shaw.ca, 780.237.7542