Around the world, governmental organizations have been supporting startup organizations as they look to take novel ideas from paper to commercialization through grants, low interest loans, and other financial instruments. At the same time, many funding agencies are wondering how to improve the efficacy of their work and what other barriers exist that hold startups back from success. To aid in answering these questions, Exergy collaborated with the “Alberta Innovation Ecosystem Partners” to identify and assess the barriers that hinder clean technology commercialization in Alberta and to provide recommended solutions to mitigate them.

As a company that interacts with multiple stakeholders in the technology development network, Exergy was uniquely positioned to provide insights that other consultants may not be exposed to. Leveraging the networks of both Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) and Exergy, the Exergy team conducted over 30 interviews with people working within the innovation ecosystem to better quantify the occurrence of different barriers for individuals and organizations throughout the development timeline, small/medium enterprise (SME) technology innovators, industrial facility owner/operators, and ecosystem funders & service providers.

Experience in innovation funding is not limited to Alberta however, and the team reviewed relevant literature in and outside of Canada, exploring cleantech programs, policy instruments, emergent hubs, and other success stories from which Alberta could learn. Jurisdictions of focus for the study were Norway, Germany, USA, and other Canadian provinces.

Bringing it all together, the team recommended a set of near-, medium-, and long-term solutions to mitigate the identified barriers with the aim to improve grant processes for technology innovators, build skills & capacity of SME’s and the ecosystem itself. These critical recommendations are documented in a report available on the ERA website under research reports, Barriers to Commercialization Study, and if you’re in the innovation industry, we’d highly recommend a readthrough.

Have any barriers to success that you would like to be better understood? Our team of engineers bring practical insights and clarity that others may miss. Reach out to learn more about how we can help make your organization’s work more effective.