Big deals are made in our big tent. Movers and shakers from diverse sectors come to GLOBE Capital to drive transactions and accelerate growth. To inspire strategic connections, we’ll be introducing you to a sample of conference delegates in our Meet the GLOBE Capital Community blog series. Check back often for more insights.
Company: Clean Resource Innovation Network
Leader attending GLOBE Capital: Jason Switzer, Co-Vice-Chair of the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) and Executive Director of the Alberta Clean Tech Industry Alliance
HQ: Alberta
Describe your company in 30 words or less:
CRIN is a pan-Canadian network enabling energy solutions for application across Canadian industries, and with the potential for global export, to increase competitiveness and decrease environmental footprint including GHG emissions.
What are you hoping to get out of GLOBE Capital?
Canadian cleantech ventures face a significant challenge in accessing capital relative to their peers in the U.S. and elsewhere. In fact, Canadian cleantech startups and scaleups raise about half the capital compared to similar American companies, according to a 2017 study by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and Cycle Capital. That means they are starved for oxygen as they seek to compete on the global stage. GLOBE Capital convenes the lion’s share of key players in Canada who can help level the playing field for our entrepreneurs.
Bullish or bearish on the clean economy in 2021 and why?
Bullish. I’m inspired by Canada’s world-class cleantech sector. CRIN is leading the expansion of a diverse, inclusive innovation network committed to address environmental and economic challenges in the oil and gas industry by enabling cleantech companies with clear paths to commercialization. Investors will soon realize the alignment with sustainability goals.
Your take on the biggest opportunity in the clean economy:
The transformation of Canada’s oil and gas sector to align with global net–zero ambitions is a huge opportunity for cleantech innovators. The past few years have seen exciting initiatives positioning Canada for a low-carbon future like the cross-border NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. Canada is home to 8% of the world’s patents in carbon-based products such as fuels and materials. We have sequestered almost one fifth of all the anthropogenic CO2 that has been captured in the world in geologic formations in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In Alberta alone, we have over 40 gigatonnes of carbon sequestration capacity. Bending the curve on global emissions means putting the oil and gas sector in reverse and we are the best place in the world to do it.
Best GLOBE memory:
Launching Canada’s first energy and environment podcast #pipelinesandturbines out of a hotel room in the Pan Pacific in 2016.
If you could invite a historical figure to GLOBE Capital, who would it be and why?
Former Premier of Alberta Peter Lougheed, because he not only had the vision to establish a public private partnership between the Alberta government, federal government, academia and industry, to establish the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA), enabling commercial development of the oil sands, but also the political acumen to make it the most successful public science program in Canadian history. That’s the same kind of visionary leadership we need now to create space for transformation of technology and business models in our oil and gas sector.
Website: cleanresourceinnovation.com
CRIN LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/crin/
Twitter: @CRIN_Canada
LinkedIn for Jason Switzer: linkedin.com/in/jason-switzer-733b161/
