Innovation and economic diversification at heart of 2016 Energy New Venture Competition

The need to invest in unique energy technologies and innovations has reached an unprecedented high. As the price of oil hovers around $40 per barrel and our economic growth stalls in the face of an uncertain future, the demand for fresh ideas in the energy industry has never been greater.

On March 15, all eyes will be on the third annual Energy New Venture Competition hosted by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and supported by Innovate Calgary. As part of this dynamic competition and industry networking event, budding seed-stage entrepreneurs will have a chance at $150,000 in cash and in-kind prizes to fast-track the development of their idea that could transform the industry altogether. 

Downtown Calgary will be the back-drop of this event, taking place in the Bow tower, and feature 13 of North Americas brightest and most innovative budding energy entrepreneurs.

“The Energy New Venture Competition is becoming a highly anticipated annual event where we see Calgary’s energy and entrepreneurial communities gather in support of the next generation of energy entrepreneurs,” says Kimberley Neutens, director of the Hunter Centre. “This year’s event won’t disappoint with an exceptional line up of competitors and a record prize package.”

The sold out event will take place in front of an audience of industry technology experts, angel investors, entrepreneurs and supporters.

The teams will each have 10 minutes to present their pitch, followed by five minutes to respond to judges’ questions. The judging panel includes Brian Gregg, M.Sc. (GE Global Research), Heather Herring (Board Member, TECTERRA and Innovate Calgary), Matt McCulloch (COSIA), Robert Bowman (Schlumberger), Terry Booth (Collins Barrow), Andrew Boland (Energy Ventures), Cameron Plewes (Peters & Co), Hull McKinnon (Altira Group LLC), Juan Benitez (Cenovus), Myron Tetreault ( O&G  executive), Suzanne West (Imaginea), Tony Loria (Dundee Capital Markets), and Henry Kutarna (Executive Director, Invest-Tech).

A gathering of influential tech champions from across Canada 

New this year, venture stream competitors also get the unique opportunity to connect with some of the city’s most influential tech champions at the Kinetica roundtable breakfast. For the first time, innovators from across the country and industry will be in the same room where both groups have a chance to learn more about challenges and opportunities in the sector.

The pitch competition will also feature guest speaker Justin Riemer, assistant deputy minister of the Science and Innovation Division of Alberta Economic Development and Trade, and an exclusive keynote interview with David Kelly, Founder and CEO of SkyFire Energy, Western Canada’s leading solar contractor who designed and installed grid-connected and off-grid solar power systems throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

The 2016 Energy New Venture Competition is sponsored by the John Dobson Foundation, Innovate Calgary, Cenovus, Collins Barrow, PTAC as well as individual donations through the Haskayne School of Business’ Founders’ Circle. Event partners also include the PROPEL Energy Tech Forum and Calgary Economic Development. 

Results will be announced throughout the competition on Twitter @Hunter_Centre.

Concept Stream teams:

• Aesop Technologies (Norfolk, VA), is a solar technology startup that provides products with convenience, while promoting a healthier, cleaner environment.
• BFH Corp (Bitcrude) (Calgary, AB), is a new way to process, transport, store and profit from Alberta’s crude oil.
• Invisible Predictions (Calgary, AB), is a cloud-based web platform that provides real-time estimation and prediction of electricity generation from behind-the-meter solar photovoltaic systems.
• METEOR BioTech: Microbially Enhanced Thermally Engineered Oil Recovery (Calgary, AB), develops technology and services for lowering greenhouse gas emissions intensity and increasing productivity from heavy oil and oil sands reservoirs.
• SMACK Energy Forecasting (Calgary, AB), is a fast, accurate and robust wind power forecasting system.
• Solar Biocells (Calgary, AB), has radically rethought biomass production, leading to an entirely new concept for the production of climate neutral fuels.

Venture Stream teams:

• Aquatricity (Boulder, Colorado), a power and water control system, addresses the problems of energy and water scarcity faced by underserved communities worldwide.
• Endeavor Technologies (Edmonton, AB), delivers advanced computational modelling for the drilling industry.
• GEM Services (Calgary, AB), has revolutionized the industrial matting industry.
• Interface Fluidics (Calgary, AB), is an engineering laboratory services company specializing in microfluidic reservoir modeling and fluid characterization for the upstream oil and gas industry.
• Oplii (Calgary, AB), is an operations management system that uses mobile and cloud technology to connect the office and the oilfield.
• Spectralog (Calgary, AB), is advancing the science and practice of resource recovery through hyperspectral technologies – high-resolution, big data that can solve the industry’s most challenging technical problems, such as where and how to drill for maximum resource recovery with the lowest environmental impact.
• Zeel (Calgary, AB), is using software to disrupt the pipeline integrity world by putting inspectors on the ground at a lower cost, helping them gather more useful information and get their engineers back to the tasks that have the most impact.

Located in the heart of Canada’s energy sector, the University of Calgary has built a reputation as a global leader in energy research and innovation. With a focus on our low-carbon future, diverse teams are also assessing the effects of energy-related processes while harnessing unconventional hydrocarbon resources through the Energy Innovations for Today and Tomorrow research strategy. (link to: http://ucalgary.ca/energy/).