Made-in-Canada clean tech receives a boost through Shell’s Quest Climate Grant

The Shell Canada Quest Climate Grant has awarded three Canadian clean technology innovations with $50,000 per project to recognize their efforts in helping to combat climate change. The recipients, located in Calgary, Kitchener and Toronto, were identified based on their unique business and/or product concept and their commitment to working on promising climate change innovations – whether they are about energy efficiency and savings, behavioural or social change, or clean energy initiatives.

Michael Crothers, Shell Canada President and Country Chair, said: “For Canada to achieve its climate change targets, our society will need bold new ideas and smart thinking from all Canadians. The exceptional young entrepreneurs receiving this year’s Quest Climate Grant have shown us that there are many ways to tackle what can seem like a daunting challenge. Innovation is alive and well in Canada, and together, we can thrive economically while making real progress toward our environmental goals.”

Rewarding young entrepreneurs who are taking tangible action against the effects of climate change further builds on Shell Canada’s efforts to advance low-carbon technologies. The Quest Climate Grant program was started in 2015 to mark the start-up of the Quest* carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Alberta, which recently celebrated a significant one-year milestone – capturing and safely storing more than one million tonnes of CO₂ from Shell’s oil sands operations in its first year operating.

The Quest Climate Grant recipients for 2016:

• Carbon Upcycling (Calgary, AB): Carbon Upcycling Technologies is a Canadian cleantech start-up that is working on sequestering CO₂ gas in a solid form within a variety of carbon-based feedstocks. Nanoparticles created through their patented process have shown applications in polymers, concrete, and asphalt, among others. Carbon Upcycling’s goal is to show industry that CO₂ is a commodity – rather than it being a cost to business, it can be a product with market value.
  • “The Quest Climate Grant will give us the opportunity to expand our research on how the nano-material is benefiting concrete and plastics. These are our highest volume and most robust applications - the ones that will have the largest impact on CO₂.” – Luke Carson, Director, Research and Business Development for Carbon Upcycling Technologies.
• Borealis Wind (Kitchener, ON): Borealis Wind was founded by Daniela Roeper, while still an undergraduate student, to solve the problem of wind turbine blade icing. Wind turbine icing results in significant power and revenue loss for wind farms. Her solution was an internal blade heating retrofit installed inside the rotor blades. It is easy and affordable to install with no crane or rope access required. The device is able to de-ice the rotor blades in under 90 minutes at -5°C.
  • “The Quest Climate Grant is important because it shows young people that their ideas are worth pursuing and investing in. I hope to encourage other students to pursue their ideas to change the world.” – Daniela Roeper, Founder, Borealis Wind.
• Sojourn Labs (Toronto, ON): Sojourn Labs was started by a small group of Torontonians who wanted to create a better way of getting around city streets. The solution – an electric car powered by solar energy and the rider’s own pedaling. The engine is programmable, allowing the driver to determine how much, or little, energy to exert. A drive to and from work can be a work out, or a leisurely trip. The vehicle is good for both the rider and the planet.
  • “Programs like the Shell Quest Climate Grant provide vital moral and financial support for those willing to meet the world’s problems head-on, creating opportunities to make the progress and successfully navigate our rapidly changing future.” – Phil Lam, Co-founder, Sojourn Labs.

*The Quest CCS project is a part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP), an oil sands joint venture operated by Shell and owned by Shell Canada Energy (60%), Chevron Canada (20%) and Marathon Oil Canada Corporation (20%).

For more information about the Quest Climate Grant: www.shell.ca/thequest

For media inquiries:

Shell Canada: media-desk@shell.com
Edelman, for Shell: Hailey Carnegie (hailey.carnegie@edelman.com)

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