MaRS Discovery District is partnering with Ontario Power Generation (OPG), an agency responsible for half of the electricity generation in Ontario, to launch the Generate Innovation Challenge, a partnership competition to generate new solutions for the energy sector.
The challenge will allow organizations to submit an idea, technology, or solution for the energy generation industry.
The Generate Innovation Challenge aims to engage startups, scaleups, entrepreneurs, academics, scientists, and researchers, to submit an idea, technology, or solution on four core issues in the energy generation industry. The four sector-specific categories are workforce and planning, inspection automation, data collection in constrained environments, and automated monitoring.
“OPG is excited to partner with MaRS on this important initiative as they have a strong track record of supporting ventures and entrepreneurs who solve real problems for the real world,” said Nicolle Butcher, senior vice president of corporate business development and strategy at OPG. “For us, finding innovative ways to deliver clean and reliable power in the most cost-effective way possible is extremely important, and this challenge will help us do just that.”
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Successful solutions will receive access to data, procurement support, access to OPG facilities, and technical expertise from OPG staff to develop technology solutions. They will also receive a prize of $25,000 and the opportunity to scale and incorporate their solutions into the energy sector with OPG as a partner.
“We are excited to support OPG and its innovation agenda in order to build the resilience of Ontario’s energy system,” said Shahab Shahnazari, director of innovation challenges at MaRS Discovery District. “Through the OPG Generate Innovation Challenge, we will foster mutually beneficial connections between OPG and a range of technologies and solutions developed by Canada’s community of innovators.”
The Generate Innovation Challenge will start on September 10, with applications for all sector categories will also open until October 10. Those interested in learning more and how to apply can do so on here.