Nexstream 1.0 Finalists
2020 Competition
AI-Powered Infrastructure Inspection
RecognAIse Technologies
RecognAIse Technologies was co-founded by Janos Toth, CEO, and David Hauser, CTO. This globetrotting, tech-savvy duo share more than 30 years of international utility experience between them, having completed projects in Canada, the United States, India, Poland and Iceland. Through RecognAIse Technologies, they now offer infrastructure inspection services that are powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
So how does it work? Images of the infrastructure that needs to be inspected are collected, and then analyzed, with the help of AI, to detect faults. Clients receive a detailed inspection report that identifies potential issues and makes recommendations for repairing them.
Our judges’ eyes lit up when they heard about the potential impact that AI-powered infrastructure inspections could have on utility companies and communities. Their interest was piqued when they considered that automated inspections might help reduce the cost of providing electricity and other utilities to communities, particularly rural communities. They were especially excited to hear that automated inspections may enable small faults to be caught and corrected early—before they become big problems.
Janos Toth and David Hauser — Wild Card Challengers
Fermented, Gourmet Seafood Sauces
Wild Isle Ferments
Brandon Pirie grew up working at his family's seafood-processing plant, Walcan Seafood. Looking for something different, Brandon left the area after high school and trained as a Red Seal Chef. Brandon realized that working in a restaurant would not be a good fit for him, or his family, so he decided to take his career path in a different direction. His passion for creating exceptional flavours sizzled when he discovered koji fermentation.
When he entered the NexStream Tech Competition, Brandon’s goal was to make fermenting food more accessible for home cooks. However, the process of creating a countertop unit proved to be difficult. With his passion for cooking and developing flavours at the top of his mind, Brandon pivoted. Looking for innovative ways to merge fermentation techniques with food production, he created a series of fish sauces that utilize the by-products of the very seafood-processing facility he grew up in. Salmon, smoked salmon, mussel and prawn sauces, fermented with locally sourced barley, are the first to be refined and approved by his discerning palette.
“Ocean Essence. Bottled.” Our judging panel confirmed this statement (and the company’s slogan) time after time, taste after taste.
The sauces are slated to be launched locally in November, 2020 and will eventually be distributed alongside the local, sustainably harvested seafood products that Walcan regularly ships nationally and internationally.
Brandon Pirie — Wild Card Challengers
Portable Energy POD
Portable electric
Under the direction of Mark Rabin, CEO, Portable Electric is a technology company with a focus on clean energy. Portable Electric’s team engineers, designs and manufactures the world’s leading portable power systems, which can be charged from renewable energy. They entered NexStream’s Energy Challenge with their version of a portable energy pod — the VOLTstack.
Portable Electric works with local power providers and rental businesses to provide renewable, off-grid power to local events across the world. Whether someone needs lots of power, or just a little, there’s a VOLTstack for the job. Small units, such as the VOLTstack 2k and 5k, and larger, industrial-scale, towable power stations, like the VOLTstack 20k and VOLTstack 200k, are available. These units generate mobile, long-lasting power. As an example, the VOLTstack 200k can provide 150 amps for 10 continuous hours.
Our judges got a charge out of hearing that these mobile units, which can be plugged into an outlet or work off-grid using solar and wind power, offer an environmentally friendly option for powering remote worksites. Portable Electric has a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10,000 tonnes by 2021. Their products feature low carbon emissions, as well as reduced air and noise pollution (when compared to traditional portable generators), which helps to create a healthier environment and a healthier worksite.
Mark Rabin & Sarath Samarasekera — Portable Energy Pod Challengers
NATURAL WALL SYSTEM
CALMURA NATURAL WALLS
Calmura Natural Walls was co-founded by Monty Chong-Walden, CEO, and Dr. Peter Renke, CIO. These long-time friends share an interest in architecture, building and design. Driven by Monty’s enthusiasm for biocomposite building materials, they set out to create a wall system made of sustainable, natural products that are environmentally friendly — and people-friendly, too!
Calmura Natural Walls’ biocomposite walls contain natural, non-toxic materials such as upcycled by-products from processing wood. If these walls could talk, they’d tell you that they were long-lasting; sound-dampening; insulated; and resistant to earthquakes, storms, floods, fires, mold and pests. Our judges were particularly impressed when they heard that Calmura’s wall system is also zero-waste and VOC-free. (Sometimes, a whole lot of nothing is actually a good thing.)
Creating healthy homes is the foundation upon which this innovative start-up venture is built.The team at Calmura Natural Walls strives to meet the needs of present-day homeowners, finding inspiration in time-honoured building traditions and looking ahead to the future of the industry.
Monty Chong-Walden
SOAP PRESS
LA PRESS
Andrew Brule, MBA, MASc, PEng, is the innovator behind La Press. As a rehabilitation engineer, he has developed and manufactured thousands of custom and low-volume devices for the medical rehabilitation industry using a variety of manufacturing methods, including machining, welding and 3D printing.
Andrew wanted to create a soap product that didn’t require plastic packaging, micro beads, or man-made chemicals, which can be harmful to the environment. He also wanted a product that could be made on a small scale, without large amounts of heat and energy.
Making soap at home is a craft that can be done sustainably, using natural ingredients. However, making soap can be a laborious and time-consuming task. That’s what inspired Michael to innovate and create a soap press that takes less than a minute to create a bar of soap.
The judging panel appreciated that, with La Press, soap bars containing known, natural ingredients can be made at home, by anyone in the house — even kids. La Press uses simple products that are readily available to consumers, such as soap flakes and a liquid of their choice, like water or tea. For fancier soaps, add essential oils and other natural ingredients (lavender or coffee grounds are two suggestions).
Soap made with La Press is proven to last as long as store-bought soaps. To stretch your soap even further, and reduce waste even more, Andrew suggests saving all those little slivers of soap that are too small to use anymore and turning them into a new bar with the press.
Andrew Brule
the winners of Nexstream 1.0
Congratulations to all participants, program collaborators, finalists and winners of our inaugural round of challenges!
Wild Card Challenge WINNER
$50,000 AWARDED To BRANDON PIRIE OF WILD ISLE FERMENTS
We are proud to announce that Wild Isle Ferments is the winner of our NexStream 1.0 Challenge in the Wildcard category. Congratulations Brandon Pirie!
Portable Energy Pod Challenge WINNER
$75,000 AWARDED To the Portable Electric team
We are proud to announce that Portable Electric is the winner of our inaugural Energy Challenge in the NexStream Competition! Congratulations Mark Rabin and team!
Reflections on NeXstream 1.0
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What happens when people collaborate? Big things. In 2019, a unique partnership between the City of Campbell River’s Economic Development Department and Campbell River Area Angel Group led to the creation of the NexStream Tech Competition.
When we first began working together, we all had a similar vision: grow our technology ecosystem, and a culture of innovation, while showcasing and attracting business to the community — and what better way to do that than through hosting a tech competition open to individuals and teams around the globe? These teams are working to solve the industry challenges that coastal and rural communities face. With a proud history in forestry, mining, fishing, aquaculture and tourism — all contributors to the economy — Campbell River has a supportive network for innovation and for further developing the supply chain and producing value-added products within these industries.
Campbell River is a natural choice for companies that are looking for a highly accessible location, abundant natural resources, and first-class transportation and communications networks. The community offers a dynamic and forward-thinking environment, exemplified in projects like the NexStream Tech Competition.
Embracing innovation and technology in a changing economy, the City has invested in CRadvantage, a progressive municipal broadband network, to support emerging opportunities in the technology and creative industries sectors.
The NexStream Tech Competition is truly unique. No other community the size of Campbell River hosts a tech-based competition with more than $225,000 in prize money and the opportunity for further investment through the Campbell River Area Angel Group.
With the investment opportunities available, teamed up with the CRadvantage municipal broadband network, municipal airport and easy access to ferries, Campbell River is an ideal location for innovators in the tech industry who are looking for a community that offers a low cost of living and limitless recreation opportunities, along with the services of a larger metropolitan area.
Currently, we have a number of start-ups and established tech companies in the manufacturing, forestry, aquaculture and software industries; we’re welcoming others to this growing community through the opportunities presented by NexStream.
– Mayor Andy Adams & Economic Development Officer, Rose Klukas
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The first edition of the NexStream Tech Challenges started with 37 challengers entering the competition in our inaugural categories; Food Security, Energy, Wildlife Monitoring and Wildcard. 27 teams progressed into phase two with ten being shortlisted into phase three. In total, five groups completed the challenge in two categories and we are pleased with everyone’s participation in the program.We are grateful for all of the support and interest from our community and the province of British Columbia!
Although V1.0 of the NexStream program has come to a close, several of our challengers will continue to collaborate with CRAAG and businesses in the Campbell River Area to further develop their ideas. We also expect several of the V1.0 participants to re-enter the NexStream 2.0 competition, which will begin October, 2020!
We’re thrilled with the outcomes of this first generation of prizes. We have enjoyed collaborating with the City of Campbell River and especially with Rose Klukas and her team in Economic Development. We have forged partnerships with Spring Activator, who delivered an excellent business development program for our NexStream participants and who will continue to collaborate with us in building an ecosystem that is supportive of economic resilience and growth in our community. We believe the prize winners in the remaining two categories exemplify the spirit and intentions of the NexStream Challenges. Scroll down to see all five of our excellent finalists. We commend them all for their perseverance and participation and look forward to continued work together.
– CRAAG Founding Partners - Dana, David, Andreas, Rick
FROM OUR PARTNERS
SPRING ACTIVATOR
FORESIGHT
About Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre
Foresight is Western Canada’s Cleantech Innovation Center which supports the identification and validation of cleantech opportunities and the successful commercialization of solutions. We bring together industry, government, academia and technologists to innovate and enable a responsible, more sustainable tomorrow. Find out more at www.foresightcac.com and follow on Twitter @ForesightCAC.
“We are pleased to be a sponsor of NexStream’s Portable Energy Pod Challenge. There are many off-grid uses for portable sources of power, including logging and fishing camps, in-field video production and of course, off-grid residences. Currently, the vast majority of these are primarily, if not exclusively, fossil-fuel based – with diesel, propane or gasoline generators. We believe a strong case can be made for a portable energy pod based primarily, if not exclusively, on renewable energy sources,” says Jeanette Jackson, chief executive officer of Foresight, which supports businesses developing clean technology solutions.