Medicine Hat’s Innovation Challenge awards three innovators from Calgary, Edmonton

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on September 5, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

During the second intake of a program which seeks to support innovative solutions aimed at accelerating energy transition, two companies from Calgary and one from Edmonton have been selected to receive funding for development.

As a partner with Decentralised Energy Canada to host the Energy Innovation Challenge, all winning pilot projects will be implemented and tested here in Medicine Hat.

From Calgary, Take Energy Inc. and Eguana Technologies have been selected to receive funding for their ideas that look to bring a new era of energy to Alberta through next generation energy systems and advancing technologies.

Eguana technologies is expected to deploy nine of its lithium iron-phosphate battery systems at three city facilities.

The project will expand utility-focused functions of its distributed energy resource management system, which will enable operators to manage voltage, circuit and feeder loading, as well as balance phases, losses and resiliency.

According to founder Brent Harris, the batteries’ value comes from operating as a fleet to deliver grid services.

“This project lets us advance our platform, demonstrate in new environments and expand applications,” said Harris.

Take Energy will instal an expander which captures energy lost during natural gas pressure reduction, converting it into carbon-free electricity.

Their TERVEX expander provides power like baseload generation as long as gas is flowing.

“This project will show how seamlessly our technology can scale,” said James Cleland, president, Take Energy. “With five times the output of our initial pilot, we’ll deliver reliable, zero-carbon power to the grid.”

The expander system will be installed at a west-side gas let-down station next to a prototype battery storage facility designed by Edmonton-based Aqua-Cell Energy Inc.

Aqua-Cell Energy builds large saltwater flow batteries that store renewable or off-peak energy for use during peak demand periods or outages.

These batteries use ion-exchange membranes adapted from water treatment and are modular and can be relocated as needed in shipping containers.

Founder Ellsworth Bell says the flow battery technology increases renewable energy use, lowers costs and strengthens grid reliability.

“The Energy Innovation Challenge provides valuable early-stage pilot opportunities for Canadian technologies like ours,” said Bell.

Through its partnership with Decentralised Energy Canada, Medicine Hat will provide 50 per cent of the capital requirements for each project, up to $850,000 in total for six projects. This will come from reserve funding.

“Each kilowatt we can generate and integrate through renewable or decentralized solutions makes our system more efficient,” said Raymond Chokelal, senior engineer of the city’s utility distribution systems. “We’re proud to test and refine these innovations on their way to market.”

All innovations are focused on four key areas which include grid reliability and resiliency, energy affordability and sustainability.

“The Energy Innovation Challenge is fast-tracking Alberta’s innovation ecosystem and driving real diversification of the energy economy,” said Anouk Kendall, president of Decentralised Energy Canada.

The winning pilot projects will be implemented until September 2026 when final reporting will begin which will include GHG savings, project results and impacts.

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