4 innovators fighting the climate emergency and their vision for a greener future
The climate crisis should be on everyone’s mind: the World Health Organization stated the climate crisis is the biggest health concern of the 21st century and in 2019, UBC declared a climate emergency recognizing the imminent threat climate change poses to people on both a local and global scale.
In order to address this emergency, there is a critical need for entrepreneurial thinking and action, new technologies, as well as accelerating proven climate solutions to market. entrepreneurship@UBC’s Climate Venture Studio was launched in 2020 in direct response to this need, catapulting climate research and innovation coming from the university to action, through venture creation. Co-led by Entrepreneurs in Residence Dr. Shannon Bard and Paul Needham, the Climate Venture Studio works with innovators, faculties and leaders across the university and provincial landscape to propel innovative solutions into the world that have economic, social and environmental impact.
The theme for Earth Day 2021 is “Restore Our Earth”, focusing on the natural processes, emerging green technologies and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. In this vein, we wanted to recognize (some of) the amazing ventures at entrepreneurship@UBC who are creating solutions in response to the climate emergency and learn their thoughts on the future of entrepreneurship and climate innovation.
Aqua Intelligent
Co-founder and CEO Dr. Reza Rezaei
Aqua Intelligent started out as an idea Co-founder & CEO Dr. Reza Rezaei had as a Postdoc in 2017. A graduate of UBC’s Chemical and Biological Engineering department, Reza wanted to solve drinking water problems through affordable and innovative solutions sharing that "solving the problem requires an accurate and detailed analysis that was missing."
Thus began Aqua Intelligent, an efficient and reliable platform that identifies any existing and potential problems in drinking water systems, helping local water operators to effectively solve problems through their app. Since launching, Aqua Intelligent has been named to Rocket Builder’s Emerging Rockets 2021 Cleantech list, is a finalist in round 2 of the New Ventures BC Competition presented by Innovate BC and has been a recipient of NRC IRAP and Innovate BC’s B.C. Fast Pilot Program, receiving funds to design, build, and operate a pilot of their technology in real-world conditions. The team has been able to develop and test not one, but three pilots in total so far, a huge success for the venture in its early stages.
At entrepreneurship@UBC and as part of the HATCH Accelerator, in partnership with the Institute of Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS), Reza and Aqua Intelligent have been able to dive into the deep end of venture creation, taking advantage of the resources and in-depth mentorship offered through our network of experts, industry and academic mentors and Entrepreneurs in Residence.
Amongst many things, climate change may affect water quality, which is exactly where Aqua Intelligent comes in. Reza shared "although some areas may experience increases in runoff caused by shifts in the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation, some areas may experience droughts resulting in elevated levels of potentially toxic algae and high concentrations of organic matter, bacteria, and so on. Predicting the high fluctuation of water quality impacted by climate change, and effectively managing drinking water utilities to protect these vulnerable communities, will be mandatory."
When asked about the role Aqua Intelligent is playing to create a more sustainable future, and their impact on people worldwide, Reza said: "Small communities are at risk of water crisis/boil water advisories and climate change. Our solution can help these communities to sustainably make safe and affordable drinking water and protect them from climate change impact."
Learn more about Aqua Intelligent here
Fibrilex
Founder & Director Dr. Mirjam Mai
Fibrilex Founder & Director Dr. Mirjam Mai heard about sand shortages for the first time in the summer of 2019. Shocked at both the environmental and social devastation caused by the overexploitation of sand (particularly marine ecosystems), Mirjam became infatuated with the problem, finding herself reading every article she could find on the subject online. Mirjam even interviewed two environmentalists that had been active in Cambodia supporting people who’d been affected by collapsing riverbanks. She knew she wanted to help find a solution to access under-utilized sand sources for the construction industry, and thus, Fibrilex was born.
Fibrilex provides a dry admixture that allows low-quality and smooth sand types, such as desert and dune sand, to be used in concrete with improved mechanical strength, reduced cracking and is easy to recycle. Fibrilex is contributing to a more sustainable sand supply chain for the concrete industry. A Postdoc alumni of UBC’s Forest Science program, Mirjam began fleshing out her business plan for Fibrilex during her time in the Social Venture Stream with entrepreneurship@UBC in the Spring of 2020. Now, she is in Phase 3 of entrepreneurship@UBC’s Lab2Launch program, growing as a founder and improving her understanding of the market and steps she needs to take to create a thriving business.
Mirjam has leveraged her experience across entrepreneurship@UBC’s streams and programs, working with the incubator’s fleet of Entrepreneurs in Residence and mentors who have been "invaluable in providing important tools and roadmaps as well as constructive feedback".
So far in her venture building journey, one of her greatest successes has been "initiating partnerships with concrete and sand companies who want to collaborate with us." The team has also been selected to present at a number of pitch competitions across the innovation ecosystem, recently winning not 1 but 2 categories in SFU’s Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize: The Research & Development Category Prize and the Female Founder Award! Additionally, Fibrilex was just recently announced as a finalist for round 2 of the 21st Annual New Ventures BC Competition presented by Innovate BC!
On her thoughts around innovator’s responsibility to create sustainable solutions, Mirjam replied: "I believe that we need the innovation of entrepreneurs to challenge the status quo in supply chains and promote more sustainable solutions. This can be through greener products or a business model that generates value for all stakeholders." Fibrilex is helping to do just that, with Mirjam sharing “with our solution, concrete producers will not need to import construction sand, they will be able to use their local sand, which will reduce GHG emissions from shipping. The use of low-quality and smooth sand types will also relieve some of the pressure on rivers and ocean sand sources, so that those ecosystems can heal."