Avatar Innovations launches Canada’s First CarbonTech Accelerator
Building upon the success of the Avatar Program, the inaugural Avatar Accelerator is launching today, developing industry generated and vetted CarbonTech ideas into tangible solutions for the energy transition. In a first for the sector, eight major energy, technology and telecommunications firms have come together, committing employees to work through a rigorous 12-week co-development process supported by UCalgary, with the final product being new technologies and companies that will play a role in achieving net zero targets.
As stated in the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 analysis, half the technology required to reach net-zero emissions do not yet exist – and more than $4tn annually needs to be invested to new energy technologies. Through this ground-breaking co-development model, where the ideas for technologies and processes come from within the industry, the energy sector will build the solutions capable of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
The following six transformational projects generated in the Avatar Program have been selected for inclusion in the Accelerator:
1. NabCo: Nature-based atmospheric CO2 removal solution.
2. CH4NGEnergy: Methane capture system in hard-to-reach locations.
3. EmmissionsNet: Harnessing oil and gas infrastructure for smart grid monitoring.
4. CO2Thermal: Carbon sequestration geothermal solution.
5. HydroPura: Industrial and modular green hydrogen.
6. LC Microgrids: Increasing resilience of power grids with hydrogen.
This co-development process – which also involves key members at the University of Calgary - represents a tectonic shift in the approach to developing net zero solutions because it incorporates the nimbleness of a start-up within the framework of a large cap company, supported by third party validation from UCalgary. The companies with participating employees are:
1. Suncor
2. Enbridge
3. TC Energy
4. Shaw Communications
5. Fluor Canada
6. Spartan Controls
7. AltaML
The Avatar Accelerator runs until September, with the successful companies given an opportunity to be further capitalized for scale by the Avatar Innovations investment vehicle, Avatar Ventures.
