Haskayne launches ScaleUp program to help Alberta companies compete globally

The Alberta innovation ecosystem is thriving. This growth has delivered some pain points. There are over 2,000 startups in Alberta — due in part to the outstanding programs and funding opportunities available.

But companies cannot remain a startup forever. They mature and they need support to scale into businesses that can compete globally. ScaleUp will meet the needs of high-growth companies with a nine-month program to help executive teams shift their focus to commercialization and sustainable growth. 

“Some might see a problem where we see an opportunity. ScaleUp was created at the Haskayne School of Business to support high-growth Alberta companies to ensure they stay in the province as they continue to grow,” says Jim Dewald, dean, Haskayne School of Business.

“It builds on the success of  Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies (CDL-Rockies) and will support companies taking their next big step.”

Scaling companies play an important role in a local economy as they contribute disproportionately to new job creation. High-growth companies are also associated with wealth creation, role models for peer companies and regional innovation outcomes. ScaleUp will provide support to help keep high-growth companies in Alberta instead of having them leave to other jurisdictions for support.

“When CDL-Rockies launched in 2017 at the Haskayne School of Business, our aspiration was for participating companies to build something massive. And they are,” says Alice Reimer, former CDL-Rockies site lead and CEO, Fillip Fleet. Reimer continues as a strategic adviser at Haskayne for ScaleUp and CDL-Rockies.

“The majority of the first cohort of ScaleUp are companies that have a CDL connection. Now, ScaleUp will help these companies and others to hone their competitive advantages for the global stage.”

The goal for the program is ambitious — to support high-impact companies that want to grow five times their revenue or capital or team within 24 to 36 months of completing the program. ScaleUp will guide companies moving through a critical inflection point where they need to create repeatable structures, increase leadership capacity and execute upon the economics of scale which will allow them to expand to global markets.

For the pilot of the nine-month ScaleUp program, the focus is on cleantech companies in energy and agriculture. Within this sector there is a lot of potential to enhance global competitiveness. EcoCanada ranked Canada as number one in cleantech innovation investment but 16th in commercialization.

“Alberta has many advantages that can position the province at the front of the cleantech race. We have the infrastructure to support scale, and some of the largest funders of cleantech research and projects are from traditional energy companies, many of which are headquartered in Calgary,” says Hannah Hemphill, ScaleUp director, Haskayne School of Business.

The first ScaleUp cohort was made possible through the generous support of partners who see the potential in the sector including HSBC, Deloitte Canada and Fasken.

“HSBC is proud to partner with the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business to deliver the HSBC CleanTech ScaleUp cohort,” says Kim Hallwood, head of corporate sustainability for HSBC Bank Canada.

“We’re investing to accelerate innovation and advance the clean technologies critical to building a net- zero future, and programs like this will help get us there.”

Below is the full listing of the HSBC CleanTech ScaleUp cohort, the first cohort of the Haskayne ScaleUp program.

CleanO2 Carbon Capture Technologies Inc.

Innovation: A revolutionary device, CarbinX, that captures carbon dioxide emissions from building heating systems and turns it into non-toxic pearl ash (potassium carbonate), which then makes carbon-capture soap.

Location: Calgary

Future Fields

Innovation: Future Fields produces sustainable components for science using insect biotechnology. Its EntoEngine platform is the first to harness the genetic prowess of fruit flies to produce Earth’s most environmentally and economically sustainable biomolecules.

Location: Edmonton

G2V

Innovation: G2V creates the most precise lighting for innovators who develop and test the world's next generation of solar cells, aerospace systems, smart materials, and advanced imaging technologies.

Location: Edmonton

Provision Analytics

Innovation: Provision has developed a software platform to digitize all paperwork and workflows associated with food safety, regulatory, quality and compliance within the food supply chain.

Location: Calgary

Seppure

Innovation: A new generation of nano-filters that dramatically reduces energy consumption and pollution for the industrial chemical separation and purification.

Location: Calgary

Summit Nanotech

Innovation: denaLi platform is a line of direct lithium extraction processes designed to economically and sustainably unlock lithium resources globally.

Location: Calgary

Westgen Tech

Innovation: EPOD (Engineered Power on Demand) is a solar-hybrid power generation and instrumentation air system which eliminates methane venting from pneumatic systems, reducing emissions by up to 99.5 per cent.

Location: Calgary

Wyvern

Innovation: Wyvern takes high-resolution pictures of Earth from space, collecting hundreds of images at different wavelengths to form 3D data blocks impacting agriculture, forestry, environmental and emissions monitoring and energy.

Location: Edmonton