Dr. Iosif-Viorel (Vio) Onut

Co-Director, uOttawa IBM Cyber Range & Senior Manager, IBM

The University of Ottawa and IBM have partnered up to launch a Cyber Range.

There’s a major cybersecurity skills gap in Canada. The data varies, but reports show roughly three to four million unfilled jobs in that field. Trained cybersecurity professionals are desperately needed to fill the void.

The forthcoming Cyber Range, located within the University of Ottawa’s Cyber Hub on the 5th floor of the STEM Complex, is a multi-year partnership between the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) and IBM Canada and is a giant step in the right direction. The Cyber Range will provide a full sensory-immersive and interactive training setting for visitors to experience true-to-life cyber response scenarios, in a full-scale security operations center (SOC) based on a fusion team model. The Cyber Range will further enable state-of-the-art research and training in cybersecurity and cybersafety while facilitating collaboration between government, industry, and academia. 

A unique collaboration 

The uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range will be the first of its kind in Canada and is being built with a $27 million investment by uOttawa and IBM. This latest partnership comes after years of fruitful collaboration between uOttawa and IBM

“We have a long history with IBM,” says Dr. Guy-Vincent Jourdan, Co-Director of the uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range and a Professor in uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering. “IBM has been working with several of us at uOttawa, my team in particular, for the past 13 years.” 

Dr. Jourdan’s work with IBM is research focused, highlighting uOttawa’s position among the top 10 research universities in Canada. The University has long promoted dynamic research collaborations and it has leveraged Ottawa’s government laboratories, industry, and policymakers. Its latest partnership with IBM will continue to facilitate these connections.

“It felt natural for us to partner with uOttawa to bring the Cyber Range training to the university landscape,” says Dr. Vio Onut, Co-Director of the uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range and a Senior Manager at IBM. “We wish to accomplish two things: to start training students on cybersecurity and to enhance the scenarios that we have, because whenever you have a joint effort between two complementary partners from industry and academia, you always come up with better results.” 

We wish to accomplish two things: to start training students on cybersecurity and to enhance the scenarios that we have, because whenever you have a joint eff ort between two complementary partners from industry and academia, you always come up with better results.

From training to professional development 

The new Cyber Range will be a fully immersive and experiential-based facility that will enable state-of-the-art research and training in cybersecurity and cybersafety. Students, working professionals from government or industry, and other partners and clients will have the opportunity to use the Cyber Range on campus to learn, train, and upskill techniques, methods, and approaches in a world-class environment. The Cyber Range activities and operations are supported by simulation rooms, a broadcast room, a command room, and multi-purpose space for hosting visitors. 

The relationship between government, industry, and academia is essential. “Without this intersection, we’re basically spinning our wheels,” says Dr. Jourdan. “For us, it’s critical to be connected to industry and government so that our research can be oriented toward real problems that they experience.”

The Cyber Range will also create immense opportunities for interdisciplinary activities in training and research, bringing together numerous faculties and disciplines across uOttawa. “An enterprise-wide cybersecurity attack is not only handled by the technical team. Of course, there’s an incident response team that has an IT focus, but there are other important functions of the business that are also involved, including public relations, communications, human resources, legal, privacy, line of business, and more,” says Dr. Onut. All of these teams must work together as a fusion team to ensure a quick and efficient business response to preserve customer loyalty and trust, protect critical data, and maintain business operations.

The Cyber Range will help fill the training and skills gap in cybersecurity in Canada, and will offer training in both official languages. It will be operated collaboratively by uOttawa and IBM. 

The post uOttawa and IBM Join Forces with Exciting New Partnership appeared first on HiveInnovates.

To a modern shopper, a paper label raises many questions. Danavation’s Digital Smart Labels are smart enough to provide answers.

What a strange time it is to be a retailer. Just a decade ago, with online shopping on a steep ascent, everywhere you looked it seemed there was another breathless article foretelling the death of brick-and-mortar retail. Soon, they proclaimed, we would buy everything on the web and never step foot in another actual store. Today, coming off two years of intermittent lockdowns, it’s clearer than ever that no one actually wants that. We crave the human connection, the social interaction, the simple sneakers to floorboards experience of in-person shopping.

At the same time, consumers have grown accustomed to the convenience, the personalization, the agility, and the flexibility of digital storefronts, so their expectations of the shopping experience have shifted and grown more discerning. And, in an era of aggressive online price-matching and personal financial uncertainty, they aren’t willing to compromise on the sticker either, putting pressure on the already thin margins of many stores. All this while the cost of labour is skyrocketing and retailers are still struggling to make up revenue lost during the pandemic.

In short, customers demand that the doors stay open and the prices stay low while the shopping journey undergoes a thorough digital transformation. Simple, right?

In fact, it can be.

Where we’re going, the old maps won’t take us 

Surely it would be too much to ask that a single unobtrusive technology could lay the foundation for a complete revamp of the retail experience, meeting all the expectations of the modern digital shopper without obstructing the charm (or hurting the bottom line) of even the coziest shop. Right? Well, let’s talk about Digital Smart Labels, the technology that strikes at the heart of retail’s hidden engagement problem.

The labels in the store, whether they’re price tags or sales announcements or in-store navigation aids, are the informational hooks of the retail voyage, and comparing Canadian innovator Danavation’s micro e-paper Digital Smart Labels to traditional labelling is like comparing a full-featured modern internet-enabled GPS navigation system to a torn and coffee-stained folding roadmap bought at a gas station in 1992. Either might get you there, if there aren’t any unexpected surprises, but one is going to have you in a very different mood when (and if) you arrive.

The way information is packaged and delivered matters. Danavation’s Digital Smart Labels ensure that prices are always accurate with instantaneous point-of-sale synchronizing. They create an environment where the right information can always be presented in the right place at the right moment. They provide a context-appropriate gateway to remote resources like product reviews, inventory updates, and loyalty programs. But it’s not just the content they display. To quote Marshall McLuhan for a moment, the Digital Smart Labels are the message. They tell the customer by their very presence that this is an environment where information is vibrant and reliable. This is a store they can engage with on their terms.

“Today’s customers are getting younger, smarter, and faster,” says Danavation’s founder and CEO John Ricci. “They rely a lot on technology, and they’re very sharp and price-sensitive. As a retailer, you have to find a way to impress and engage them.”

An engaged customer is an empowered consumer

The little things make a big difference. And, though most labels are small, they play an outsized role as conduits of information. Out of date flyers, incorrect prices, mislabelled shelves, missing product information. Any one of these things can break the flow of shopping and send the customer to their phone, or to another store. Digital Smart Labels remove all these stumbling blocks in one fell swoop, while simultaneously cutting costs by easing the workload of employees, shrinking the carbon footprint of the store, and increasing the agility of operations. And interactions that were once a point of frustration and uncertainty become an opportunity for engagement, right there at the shelf.

“Engage customers at the shelf and they will buy more,” notes Ricci. And that’s not a trick. It’s what people want. They have spent enough time in their homes, shopping online. They’re getting back out into the world and going into stores now very much on purpose. People are there to shop, to engage, to buy. They just want it to be easy.

Technologies like Digital Smart Labels make the little things easy, so that your business can focus on the big things. Because that’s where you shine.

The post How Retail Can Step into the Future Without Leaving the Best of Itself in the Past appeared first on HiveInnovates.

It is imperative that Canada develops a national strategy for IoT, in consultation with business, industry, policymakers, and academics. Canada cannot afford to stay behind in this sector, given the pervasiveness of the technology and the economic stakes.

The Internet of Things is the latest evolution of the “web”. In 1969 ARPAnet was born when a message was exchanged between the computers of two research teams at Stanford and at UCLA. In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, as a network of HTML pages accessible through the HTTP protocol. These technologies launched a race, among existing bricks-and-mortar companies, to establish a “presence” on the Internet to advertise their products to a broader audience of potential clients. The mid-90s saw an explosion of eCommerce websites, eBay and Amazon being just two notable examples, selling products and services online without a real-world store. The launch of Facebook in 2004 brought about Web2.0, offering every individual on the planet the opportunity to connect with each other. The Internet of Things, first mentioned in 1999 to promote RFID technology,  is the natural evolution of this increasingly expanded “connectivity” and promises to seamlessly connect the physical world to the Internet, to enable the “sensing” the natural and built environment, the analysis of the collected data at the edge, where it is first collected and on the cloud where it is eventually aggregated, and the optimization of the activities and systems that impact them.

The Opportunity and The Challenge

IDC predicts that the value of the global IoT market will be 1T by 2022. Solid numbers on how much Canada will contribute to this economic activity are not available but unfortunately, there is some evidence that Canada may be lagging behind other countries in taking advantage of this family of technologies. In 2015, there were 363 million visible devices online with some 84 million recorded in China and 78 million in the US. When computing the number of online devices per 100 inhabitants, Canada does not make the list of the top 10 Countries. 

Use Cases for the Canadian Economy

The top five economic sectors in Canada, i.e., Real Estate, Manufacturing, Mining, Construction, and Health, can be substantially amplified by IoT. Modern buildings are equipped with sensors that monitor their indoor environment and building usage; this data can be used to fine-tune the HVAC systems’ parameters to improve comfort and reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs, amplifying the return on real-estate investment. IoT can optimize manufacturing processes through robotic control and automation; the reduction of manual effort and risk can boost productivity and quality. The mining and extraction industries have potentially the most to gain from IoT-enabled innovation: environmental sensing can help to precisely identify mining opportunities, and reduce environmental impacts. Construction projects often suffer from cost overruns that could be avoided if the progress of the work on construction sites was better monitored through cameras and sensors embedded in the machines and materials involved. Finally, health care costs could be reduced, and citizen health could be improved, if the variety of data emitted by the devices worn by consumers was analyzed and considered at the point of care.

Recommendation

It is imperative that Canada develops a national strategy for IoT, in consultation with business, industry, policymakers, and academics. This national strategy should include a framework (and incentives) for public-private partnerships to build the necessary IoT infrastructure and deliver demonstrator projects in all major sectors of the Canadian economy, including the Government itself. Canada cannot afford to stay behind in this sector, given the pervasiveness of the technology and the economic stakes.

The post Internet of Things: Opportunities and Challenges appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Cheryl McGrath

Area VP & Country General Manager, Optiv Canada

The art of balancing innovation and risk management in the world of IoT

As organizations continue to digitally transform, Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as cell phones, tablets, watches, refrigerators, medical devices, vehicles and many more, are becoming critical components to enable companies to act quickly on information to increase competitive advantages and operational efficiencies. 

The addition of these devices to IT environments allows for improved data utilization to better manage technology, increase output and reduce costs and downtime. However, the effort to utilize these new data sources significantly alters an organization’s threat landscape, opening up vulnerabilities that previously couldn’t be exploited. In many instances, network security is unable to detect IoT connections or provide visibility into the extent of an organization’s expanded threat landscape.

Organizational goals are often focused on accelerating time to market. As such, much of the attention and celebration goes to the developers and pioneers who create these IoT tools. In the rush to market, many companies’ security programs are not optimized or utilized at all.  

In conversation with Cheryl McGrath, Area VP & Country General Manager at Optiv, Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia, Senior Director of Digital Economy, of Technology & Innovation at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, takes a closer look at some of the key concerns around IoT security. As the discussion demonstrates, the importance of this issue is pressing, as the trail of technological innovation, especially over the last five years, has also served as a pathway for threat actors to target what they should go after next. 

The term IoT is increasingly being used, and yet, the risks of its real use and application aren’t necessarily well understood. How can this discrepancy be explained?

Companies are looking to unlock data from the next asset class to consume and monetize   —   and that’s IoT.  

The physical interface to digital systems is changing along with everything else. Developers have unlocked tools and gadgets for a wide range of applications   —   machines that don’t run off of regular user laptops or standard servers. Keyboards and mice are being replaced with voice commands and VR.  And that is just the beginning. The development of this is still in its infancy and is guaranteed to create vast issues for security teams during this evolution.  

For critical infrastructure, let’s face it   —   IoT devices control most of the physical world. Everything from the gas in the pumps to our cars, medical devices, the temperature in food processing plants and nuclear facilities. Devices that operate without standard operating procedures are everywhere. 

You can’t secure what you can’t see and most organizations don’t have complete visibility to all of the devices on their networks. If threat actors exploit these IoT vulnerabilities, it can be disastrous. Look at Log4j.

The physical interface to digital systems is changing along with everything else.

How will security be knitted into these new environments? 

These devices are becoming integrated into many new forms of data. For example, consider modern distribution centers, where product is moved from one side of a factory to another via conveyer belt. Once these facilities had just a few sensors used for measurements for the whole facility. Now, more than a hundred sensors are used   —   per foot. We’re livestreaming terabytes of data regarding destination, package shape and weight and much more, but not securing the system any differently. Some security teams are still assuming that one external firewall will secure the facility. Contrast this with the cathedrals of defense implemented on the IT side. The rate of data creation is outstripping our ability to use and secure it.

As we look ahead to the next three years, what should people and businesses be considering with regard to IoT?

There are “three wants” that need to be considered.

Uptime: Many facilities care more about the ability to operate than they do about security. We are replacing aged digital infrastructure with modem cloud networks. A shift of this scale requires people to change their mentality and that can sometimes be a big ask. We also know that people are often wary of new business practices, so that needs to be thought through and immediately actioned.

Digital tools: Think of something as ubiquitous as temperature controls. Many automation systems are trained and honed to regulate small bands of temperature constraints. This plays out in many environments in varying degrees of criticality, ranging from data centers to food storage. All of these facilities have their own digital record, which will need to be extracted, centralized and made tamper-proof.

Security: In many organizations, these new data paths and devices have not been fully monitored or assessed against company risk thresholds. It took us 15 years to secure the modern ATM. These new IoT devices can be larger and closer to more valuable data (yes, more valuable than an ATM full of cash). With information this valuable and technology this new and vulnerable, security and risk mitigation have to be at the forefront of all organizations.

What can companies do to mitigate IoT risks?  

To be proactive, businesses can: 

1. Tap into their production networks to identify all IoT-connected devices and identify the most vulnerable assets.  Then assess devices for vulnerabilities and mitigate outstanding security issues.

2. Understand security in relation to new IoT devices that an organization is looking to purchase and how they may affect their network.  Companies may want to hire a trusted security provider with IoT labs to test devices before they’re implemented on company networks. This is done in order to ensure third party devices aren’t erroneously capturing private data via back door portals and to test integrations with their other technologies end-to-end.

3. Adopt a policy-driven, risk framework based on the organization’s business needs. These policies should include a baseline platform for the development of automated vulnerability management and incident response solutions for IoT.

The post Transitioning from the Internet of Things to the Interconnectedness of Everything appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Corporate decarbonization can be a long and complicated process, but Amp helps its clients become leaders in the push to net-zero.

The transition to a low-carbon global economy is increasing the corporate demand for power purchase agreements (PPAs) as organizations seek to reduce emissions and secure their long-term energy costs. As one of Canada’s leading renewable energy developers, Amp’s vision and technological innovations are reshaping traditional sustainability strategies and helping corporations realize their clean energy future.

Forging a new era in Canadian renewables

Steve Schaefer has been with Amp since its inception in 2009 and now serves as Senior Vice President of Origination and Head of Canadian Operations. Schaefer and his team have developed over 130MW of renewable energy across over 550 projects, primarily in the form of feed-in tariff contracts supplied by solar and, more recently, hybrid solar plus battery storage assets.

“The genesis of our commercial and industrial (C&I) strategy is to solve the challenges associated with C&I clients achieving their environmental sustainability targets by providing the most beneficial solutions,” says Schaefer. “This is why Amp is now a top-tier PPA provider globally.”

With decarbonization being new territory for many C&I organizations, Amp’s initial role focuses primarily on education, data collection, and strategic planning.

“More and more C&I organizations are making ambitious net-zero commitments, but they don’t always know where to start,” says Schaefer. “That’s exactly where we come in.”

A holistic approach to decarbonization

Amp has evolved from supplying clean energy solutions to complete decarbonization strategies. In the increasingly competitive renewable energy sector, one of Amp’s key differentiators is its holistic approach to C&I energy transitions.

“Many organizations have taken small steps in the decarbonization space to date, but have now either generated their own net-zero target or had one imposed upon them,” says Schaefer. “Decarbonization doesn’t rely on one single pillar. The only way to reach these goals is through a holistic approach.”

Amp’s unique approach will include combining renewable generation with battery storage and its proprietary digital energy platform, Amp X. “We’re now integrating and unifying real asset development with Amp X, combining supply and demand through a digital platform with a single optimization engine,” says Schaefer. “We will be taking all the energy nodes, whether they’re consumption, generation, or both combined with storage, and providing the unique capability to optimize behind the meter.”

Unlocking energy flexibility with Amp X

The development and evolution of Amp X has been a revelation in the integrated energy solutions space. Working in conjunction with renewable energy and storage assets, Amp X is designed to unlock new levels of optimization and flexibility, enabling C&I customers to potentially generate new revenue streams via participation in energy markets.

Amp is also rapidly establishing itself as a global leader in the energy storage space, with an expanding portfolio of standalone assets and hybridized systems pairing batteries with solar or wind. In addition to extending the penetration of renewable generation, energy storage is emerging as an effective way to reduce peak energy demand.

Amid the rapid progress of Canada’s C&I decarbonization efforts, Schaefer is excited by the scale of the opportunities that lie ahead. “It’s breathtaking to see how many organizations are making that net-zero pledge, and my team and I are excited to support our C&I partners in achieving this vision,” he says.

The post Enabling Commercial and Industrial Decarbonization with Amp appeared first on HiveInnovates.

The Solstex^® Solar Façade System enables building owners to generate clean energy, save on electricity costs, and provide community benefits.

We tend to think of traditional solar systems as ground mounted or rooftop mounted projects. However, there’s an argument to be made for integrating them with building facades. “If you’re looking at a high-rise building, for example, you have more opportunity to put solar panels on a façade than you do on the rooftop just due to space constraints,” says Hugh Lowry, Special Projects Engineer at Elemex Architectural Façade Systems, a London, Ontario based company specializing in photovoltaic façade systems.

Solar facades can bring economic, environmental, and community paybacks to a project. They yield cost savings and a return on investment by capturing and turning solar rays into clean energy in the building space. “Along with that, you’re offsetting the possible carbon emissions and providing a benefit to both the environment and the surrounding community,” says Lowry.

While using standard shapes, sizes, and colours is the most economical way to build a solar wall, there may be the odd finicky corner or tricky area that requires something more flexible and customizable. That’s one important consideration when looking into solar facades. Another is the fact that here in the northern hemisphere the south-facing walls are more economical than north-facing walls.

Solstex^® building-integrated photovoltaic façade system offers economical, custom solutions

Elemex’s Solstex^® building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) façade system lets designers and architects incorporate lightweight, large format panels onto a façade and is ideal for new construction and retrofits. The panel surface resembles black glass and integrates well with other surfaces like aluminium plates, sintered ceramic, and natural stone, and works seamlessly with the entire family of Elemex^® façade systems using our Unity^® Attachment Technology.

Solstex^® façade systems are also built to withstand the harshest elements and will soon be available in a new array of coloured panels to include dark grey, light grey, bluish-green, bronze, brass, gold, and orange.  

The post Solstex® Line of Solar Facades Generate More than Just Clean Energy appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Getting cleantech innovations to market can be challenging. KPM Power’s Battery Management Systems are helping to remove major barriers to electrification.

When Karen Lai established KPM Power in 2017, getting lithium batteries to market was a huge challenge. “Dealing with lithium is a very expensive process and a lot of the government funding was being cut at the time,” says the President & Founder of KPM Power, a Canadian company specializing in customized lithium-ion battery solutions. Wanting to help get cleantech companies and alternative energy products to market, she eventually settled on battery management systems (BMS) as the quickest and most affordable way. BMS is an electronic system of hardware and software that monitors and controls the state and performance of the battery.

Only Canadian company with a UL1973 and UL2580 certified BMS

KPM Power’s Anzen line of BMS has a key feature for allowing customization for various applications and battery types and is approved for chemistries ranging from lithium to nickel zinc. This year it received UL1973 and UL2580 certifications for safety for stationary applications (back-up power, off-grid power, vehicle auxiliary power and light electric rail applications) and moving electric vehicles, respectively. Being the only Canadian company to have both certifications not only eases KPM Power’s own entry to the North American market, but also that of its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers. “It will also open the door to a lot of OEMs out there because it simplifies the certification process and makes it easier for them to get their cleantech to market,” says Lai.

Being a female founded and run company, KPM is eager to support young women and girls in pursuing the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields through hackathons and bursaries. “Right now, girls make up only about 20% of enrolment in STEM programs, so we’re working to help more girls join STEM fields,” says Lai.

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As Canada electrifies its economy, solar is ready to rapidly transform underutilized spaces into distributed energy infrastructure.

Globally, solar power provides the lowest cost of energy in history. It is a mature, commercialized technology that is available today – no future breakthroughs or government grants required. Electrification is inevitable. Now is the time to elevate our clean energy standards in Canada. Solar is ready.

For businesses, solar is an opportunity to further monetize existing development assets. Solar is also a visible way to demonstrate corporate social responsibility and connect with clientele who share their sustainable values. Most investments in technology are deflationary. Solar is bankable. With a lifetime far longer than its return on investment, today’s solar drives the net cost of energy down, providing energy rates that are lower now, and for the next 30 years.

Solar power is highly adaptable, easily integrating into developed spaces. Unlike the construction of new centralized power plants, solar is rapidly installed anywhere, at any scale. As a distributed energy resource (DER), solar avoids the expense of long-distance transmission, producing electricity where it is needed. This decentralization of energy not only stabilizes energy costs, it minimizes urban sprawl by maximizing our use of space.

Solar transforms our cities

There is an abundance of urban space that is not being used to its full potential. Rooftops and parking lots are underutilized and can be made productive. Solar transforms them into distributed power plants. By empowering us to rethink how and where we generate electricity, solar is an essential ingredient in the energy mix for a cleaner, electrified future.

Rooftop solar installations built on existing structures have already enabled early adopters to generate up to 100 percent of their electricity and beyond, with many exporting surplus energy to the grid.

Solar canopies that cover parking lots provide benefits that go beyond power generation. They provide shelter from inclement weather, shade in summer, and snow cover in winter. It is infrastructure at human scale that enhances the urban experience.

Achieving Canada’s energy transition

In Canada, renewables generate 70 percent of our electricity. They are already major sources of our energy. Despite advancements in energy efficiency, our energy demand continues to grow, doubling in only 40 years. Distributed solar is one pillar in closing the gap to complete our energy transition, powering the electrification of transportation and heating.

Installing solar into urban spaces enables an agile, bottom-up response to transforming our energy infrastructure. Solar empowers communities and businesses to act now to fight climate change, drive down their long-term energy costs, and supply local economic returns. It is a new form of infrastructure that addresses rising capital costs and operating expenses.

Solar has the power to transform.

Innovative design

At VCT Group, we develop innovative solar products that productively transform space.

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What exactly is energy storage technology?

Energy storage technology captures energy produced and stores it for later use. Energy is stored through a variety of technologies including, but not limited to, pumped hydro, batteries, compressed air, hydrogen storage and thermal storage. The ability to store energy for later use allows increased regulation of the amount of power supplied to an energy system and contributes to the overall resilience of the power grid.

Why do we need energy storage?

Energy storage is flexible and can act as a generation, transmission, or distribution asset – sometimes in a single resource. Energy storage assets can augment any number of resources in an energy system. While energy storage is a great complement to the intermittent generation of renewable assets, it can also respond to fluctuations in grid demand, helping meet peaks in demand, and reducing the need for generators to increase production. Low-cost energy can be stored to supply the additional energy needed during these high-cost peaks, which in addition to increasing the energy available, reduces costs for consumers. Energy storage is also able to serve as a backup if power generation is interrupted, augmenting an energy system’s reliability and resilience, and helping to reduce the environmental impacts of increased energy demands.

How is energy storage useful on a grid scale?

Energy storage’s flexibility and its ability to complement existing systems, offer a range of benefits at the grid level. It improves the overall efficiency of the operation of the grid, helps meet high-cost demand during peak periods, and reduces grid congestion, which can cause damage to the grid. The ability to store this excess energy until it is needed also reduces the need to build additional power generation assets if existing transmission infrastructure may be hard-pressed to meet increases or changes in demand. Energy storage can solve this problem by storing the energy (possibly even sited near the generation source) and moving the energy to where it is needed prior to periods of congestion. Energy Storage also tends to gain less public opposition than more visible powerlines or other power generation projects.

What can we expect to see in terms of innovation in storage technology in the next 5-10 years?

Because energy storage tends to still be categorized as an “emerging technology,” an argument could be made that all energy storage technologies and applications are innovative. However, in the next five to ten years, as the costs of energy storage systems continue to decrease, it’s likely there will be a greater prevalence of all energy storage technologies. It’s possible in that time frame we might also see different battery storage chemistry, or different mechanical storage solutions, such as technologies harnessing kinetic or gravitational energy. Hydrogen storage options are also generating a lot of interest currently, which could present some interesting and innovative energy storage solutions in the coming years. Another area of interest that is ripe for innovation is long-duration energy storage (LDES), energy storage technologies that hold energy for longer periods of time, upwards of 24 hours or more. The great thing about energy storage in terms of innovation is that as ready as many technologies are to be incorporated into existing grids, the solutions today are just the beginning. It’s an area that is ripe for growth and innovation for a long time to come.

What actions have been taken by industry and government stakeholders to advance energy storage technologies in Canada? What more needs to be done?

The provinces in Canada that are ahead of the game (Ontario and Alberta) have taken steps to review existing legislation and regulation, in consultation with industry stakeholders, to identify barriers to the incorporation of energy storage and have started taking steps to remove those barriers. There continue to be conversations surrounding the timelines these provinces have laid out to fully enable energy storage, but they do have a plan or road map in place that provides a line of sight to advance energy storage in their jurisdiction. Other provinces could certainly look to these leading jurisdictions to support the development of similar road maps for their own provinces. In terms of the federal government, federal funding opportunities or guidance could be compelling levers to assist in that task. In terms of energy storage development for Canada, it’s less that more needs to be done and more that the processes being undertaken need to move faster because the energy storage industry is ready to meet the growing needs of Canada’s energy grids and to help Canada meet its net-zero goals!

The post Q&A with Energy Storage Canada appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Unlike learning a new skill or hobby, there is no “how-to” handbook for entrepreneurship – that’s where non-partisan, well-connected support organizations come in. In an ecosystem filled with hyper-specialized, regionally diverse entities, there is a benefit in having access to a “30,000 foot overview” of the resources and opportunities within the startup landscape. Support organizations and their teams can point new and existing founders in the right direction, help them make informed decisions, and empower their success through connections and collaboration. Ecosystem connectors are also uniquely poised to identify the support gaps that really exist in the space.

There is much to consider when launching a new business – everything from financing and HR to marketing and legal. According to Startup Canada’s 2020 census, founders in the space are looking for more streamlined, centralized overviews of support available across the ecosystem. Startup Canada is committed to creating and fostering an entrepreneurial environment in Canada that is as supportive to new projects as it is to those that are established. Knowing that no two journeys are the same, we have created a list of resources for all aspiring and existing founders.

Here’s a good place to start:

Financing

• Hockeystick connects startups to funding using AI and data to drive connections.
• Clearco is a lending firm specializing in non-dilutive revenue-share agreements with startups.
• Backstage Capital is a venture capital firm specializing in funding women, People of Colour, and LGBT+ led startups.
• The 51 is a Financial Feminist platform where investors and founders come together for democratized access to women-led capital for women-led businesses.
• The National Angel Capital Organization is a steward of the angel capital asset class and informs evidence-based policy in partnership with the government.
• The Government of Canada has many loan and grant programs meant to empower Canada’s founders.
• Bank loans for SMEs: BDC, Scotiabank, etc.

Pitching

Volition brings a community-building approach to advising and events for entrepreneurs.

Human Resources & Hiring

Essential HR provides streamlined HR relief to small businesses through hands-on support.

Marketing & PR

• THINK DIFFERENT[LY] is a PR company helping organizations build, test, and measure effective growth strategies.
• Comms Bar works like an Apple Genius Bar, helping founders to use PR, marketing, and publicity to grow their business.

Global Growth

Startup Global connects a pan-Canadian cohort of entrepreneurs wanting to build global businesses through workshops, bootcamps, pitch building, advisory support, digital resources, and more.

Mentorship & Community

• Mentorly is a leading online mentorship platform connecting emerging and seasoned entrepreneurs for meaningful, one-on-one mentorship.
• Startup Communities are local, grassroots networks on a mission to fuel a culture and environment of entrepreneurship at the local and industry level.

Demographic-specific Support

Women-identifying Support

• FLIK is a curated portal allowing ambitious women to take on a mentorship-based apprenticeship under a woman leader.
• Startup Women helps women founders through mentorship, events, and resources.

Rural Support

• Rural on Purpose is a social purpose business with a global mission to introduce a new era of rural entrepreneurship.
• Clearing a New Path Podcast amplifies the underrepresented voices of rural women founders across the country.
• Community Futures operates 267 non-profit offices across Canada providing small business services to those in rural communities.

Indigenous Founder Support

• Okwaho Equal Source is a social purpose enterprise on a mission to fuel social impact through human-centred design, innovation, and Indigenous-led research.
• NACCA is a network of over 50 Aboriginal Financial Institutions dedicated to stimulating economic growth for Indigenous people in Canada.
• Pow Wow Pitch is a grassroots community of Indigenous entrepreneurs purpose-built to provide a platform for education, celebration, mentorship, and reconciliation.

Black Founder Support

• The Black Entrepreneurship Program is a partnership between the Government of Canada, Black-led business owners, and financial institutions which includes an investment of up to $350.8 million over four years.
• Black Entrepreneurs BC provides advocacy, access to funding facilitation, advisory and mentorship services to help Black businesses grow, scale, and become sustainable.

LGBT+ Support

• The CGLCC is the only chamber of commerce uniting and advocating for Canada’s 28,000+ LGBT+ owned and operated businesses.
• Pride at Work uses dialogue, education, and thought leadership to empower Canadian employers to build workplaces that celebrate LGBT+ employees.
• TransFocus Consulting brings systems-thinking to gender inclusion, helping organizations transform from the inside out.

Disability Support

Liberty Co is a consultancy focused on increasing the participation of Neurodiverse individuals in the workforce.

Youth Support

Futurpreneur provides financing, mentorship, and support tools to aspiring founders aged 18-39.

Specialized tools and resources have their benefits, but to truly empower Canadian entrepreneurs we need centralized, reliable, dedicated support spaces where founder success is central to mission and mandate.

Kayla Isabelle is the Chief Executive Officer at Startup Canada, the gateway to Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem that points you in the right direction, eliminates barriers, and champions your needs to private and public sector partners. Startup Canada’s mission is to connect Canada’s entrepreneurs with the tools, community, and support they need to start and build their businesses. Kayla has dedicated her career to supporting entrepreneurs, both in Canada and internationally. As an award-winning strategic communications consultant and change management facilitator, Kayla is passionate about leveraging the power of storytelling in the entrepreneurial community.

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