Navdeep Bains, the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a new project in the Atlantic region February 21 to foster the creation and growth of ocean technology companies including ocean energy. The “Ocean Supercluster” brings together six partner organizations for this ecosystem development project. The partners include incubators, incubator companies that provide coaching, early stage investment and the like: Creative Destruction Lab, Genesis, Innovacorp, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, PEI BioAlliance, and Springboard Atlantic.
The Ocean Startup Project is designed to support the development of ocean technology start-ups and increase the industrial use of marine technologies. The project intends to “address talent challenges by growing the ocean workforce and helping new businesses hire employees with the necessary skill sets.” In addition, the project will try to encourage the participation of under-represented groups, such as women and Indigenous people, in the sector.
The project is expected to help revive rural and small communities in the Atlantic region, bringing entrepreneurial opportunities to regions that have, in many cases, been economically rooted in traditional ocean industries in the past. With "engage cafés" planned in Corner Brook, Cape Breton, Shippagan and Yarmouth, the project will seek to lay the foundation for game-changing ocean innovation in the region.
The project represents a total investment of up to $6.8 million, including over $4.4 million from the Government of Canada ($3.9 million from the Innovation Superclusters Initiative and $535,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) and $2.4 million in contributions from provincial governments and other partners.
The supercluster announced its first project last June, kicking off a technology venture that will bring seafloor mapping to industries and researchers.
Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan commented, "One of our strongest economic drivers here in St. John's and in Atlantic Canada is our ocean and marine sector. By supporting accelerator and incubation programs, I see this project helping to bridge the technology gap that has long hampered the ocean economy in areas like offshore oil and gas, shipping and seafood."
Ocean supercluster partners
Creative Destruction Lab
Participating companies receive coaching, advice and mentorship from seasoned business leaders plus connections to potential investors. Clients include:
{moaimages} • Eavor Technologies in Calgary, which has been developing a closed-loop geothermal power generation system in a field-scale pilot in Clearwater County, Alberta. Eavor’s Yukon branch and Carmacks Development Corporation announced an agreement January 29 to develop an Eavor-loop facility in Yukon. The loop uses vertical and horizontally-drilled boreholes deep into heated rock strata. Eavor claimed a successful demonstration of its Alberta pilot in 2019 (IPPSO FACTO, June 2019). The technology is designed to provide carbon-free baseload power, implementable “almost anywhere in the world.”
• Brimstone Energy, which developed a technology platform for low-energy electrochemical production of hydrogen, based on the co-generation of other key commodities like cement.
• Antora Energy, building a low-cost thermal battery for grid-scale energy storage.
Genesis
• An alumnus of its incubator program Enterprise, Seaformatics has developed the Waterlily, a rugged microturbine that can harness river or wind energy to recharge USB based devices.
Innovacorp
Early stage venture capital organization. Target industries include information technology, clean technology, life sciences and ocean technology
Clients:
• Halifax-based CarbonCure Technologies, specializing in carbon capture and storage technologies, has developed a technology that captures carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources and incorporates it into the production process of concrete products, while improving concrete’s material properties and reducing production costs.
• Salient Energy is commercializing an entirely new type of battery called the zinc-ion battery. Built exclusively with inexpensive, abundant, and safe raw materials, zinc-ion will replace lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries in non-portable applications.
• Neothermal Energy Storage is an early stage clean technology company that helps homeowners with boilers or furnaces convert from fossil fuel to low-cost, off-peak electric heating using integrative, supplemental energy storage.
New Brunswick Innovation Foundation
Clients:
• Anessa biogas software: Formally known as WEnTech Solutions is a software company specializing in the biogas industry that has developed robust and sophisticated software products to assist clients in assessing, validating and operating Anaerobic Digestion plants. These innovative software solutions are computerizing the task of anaerobic digestion project assessment and optimization.
• Stash Energy: stores power from heat pumps for later use at peak times. The Stash Energy Storage system works with conventional heat pumps to thermally store energy for later use, which prevents usage during peak times.
PEI BioAlliance
The BioAlliance is a private sector-led not-for-profit organization dedicated to building the bioscience industry on Prince Edward Island.
Springboard Atlantic
Springboard provides strategically positioned resources to Atlantic Canadian universities and colleges alike, helping them transfer both knowledge and technology into the private sector.