Alberta seeks cleantech opportunities in Canada’s mobility sector

The California Mobility Center (CMC), Invest Alberta and EnerTech Capital are kicking off a partnership to progress North America’s advanced mobility sector.

The three organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Canadian Hydrogen Convention in Edmonton, Alberta to identify investment opportunities and increase collaboration and research in the sector.

Based in Sacramento, California, the CMC accelerates the pace of future mobility commercialization in California and the world by helping early-stage companies, and industry incumbents intelligently navigate the last mile of the innovation process and successfully launch products to market. The CMC is rapidly building an international network of industry partnerships to advance mobility technologies including electric vehicles, autonomous transportation, battery storage, shared mobility solutions, public transit and new business and policy models for adoption on the international stage.

Mark Rawson, COO, California Mobility Center, commented, “The CMC’s strategic market location in California provides unparalleled access to the world’s largest EV market, behind China. It is a competitive advantage, but our business model and strategic partnerships are not constrained by California’s borders. Domestic and international alliances with entities like EnerTech, Invest Alberta, the Qatar Mobility Innovation Center and others creates an incredibility rich and diverse partner network that allows us all to get further faster.”

EnerTech, a Founding Partner of the CMC, is a venture capital firm with headquarters in Toronto, ON and Philadelphia, PA, that is actively investing out of their 5th fund vehicle, the Global Strategic Mobility Fund (GSMF). The GSMF is designed to invest in early to growth-stage privately held companies that are focused on solutions for the advanced mobility sector.

Both EnerTech and the CMC are building a localization strategy to seek mobility sector investments and local collaboration opportunities in the Canadian market. The organizations are already working in Ontario with the provincial government, Linamar, Alectra Utilities, Western University and more to create a cross-industry ecosystem to assist with policy, regulation and business opportunities to support the growing mobility sector.

Invest Alberta is bringing Alberta into this Canadian localization strategy and will work with the CMC and EnerTech to connect them with stakeholders, government, post-secondary institutions and potential high-impact investment opportunities for Alberta. This includes potential research and development collaborations in the mobility sector focused on autonomous vehicles, electrification, hydrogen, fleet management and connectivity and transportation logistics.

As a global leader in hydrogen, cleantech and petrochemical development, Alberta can help expand the CMC’s network through its expertise in hydrogen technologies and identify opportunities for Alberta’s mobility-focused companies to access other markets. This will also allow Alberta to leverage expertise and networks in California through the CMC, which is a global leader in the EV space.

Wally Hunter, Managing Director, EnerTech Capital, added, “EnerTech has been investing in and partnering with innovative companies driving change across the energy landscape for over 25 years, with a core focus on the mobility sector. As a firm we have a long history of building strategic partnerships and innovation ecosystems to provide insights and commercialization opportunities for our portfolio companies. We also have a deep investment history in the Alberta market and have been actively involved in their venture ecosystem for more than 20 years. Our firm helped to co-architect the California Mobility Center, and we saw right away how a relationship with IAC and Alberta would help expand the mobility ecosystem we are building in Canada.”

Rick Christiaanse, CEO, Invest Alberta, said, “Alberta is a global leader in responsible energy production and is working hard to create a sustainable, low carbon future. This partnership allows Alberta to leverage its strengths while also identifying high-impact investments as the province seeks to grow the advanced mobility sector.”