Pop Up City: Integrating Energy, Water and Waste Management Systems for Deployed Camps
Contests
Competition between innovators is the fuel we use to foster the best innovative solutions.
The Department of National Defence’s (DND) Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Program is calling innovators on to propose and develop solutions that provide integrated energy, water and waste management systems for the CAF’s Relocatable Temporary Camps (RTC) deployed in national and international operations.
Results
The contest consists of four rounds, two of which have been completed.
The winners of Round 3 are moving on!
The IDEaS Pop Up City contest has awarded three $1.5 million prizes to Terragon Environmental Technologies Inc., Innocorps Research Corporation and to SNC-Lavalin Integrated Utility Management System to build their prototype of a better water, waste, and energy management system for relocatable temporary camps (RTC) used by the Canadian Armed Forces.
Read the News Release
To see highlights from the IDEaS Pop Up City Contest Pitch Event check out the video here!
Winners are now eligible to move forward to the prototype development phase in Round 4 where they will vie for an additional $2 million prize!
Round 2 winners
Each winner has received a $50,000 prize and an invitation to join an integrated team to participate in the Round 3 pitch event. See below for a full list of Round 2 winners.
Integrated Solution Title | Team Members | Technical Domain |
---|---|---|
Circular City – Integrated Power, Water, and Waste Solution for Relocatable Temporary Camps |
Innocorps Research Corporation |
Water |
Pop Up City Inc. |
Energy |
|
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology |
Solid Waste |
|
Solution-Darcom Innovations Inc |
Liquid Waste |
|
SNC-Lavalin Integrated Utility Management System (IUMS) |
SNC-Lavalin Inc |
Waste |
Reveau Technologies and Solutions Inc |
Water |
|
Ascent System Technologies |
Energy |
|
Growing Greener Innovations, Inc. (GGI) |
Energy |
|
Rival Lab Inc |
Energy |
|
NOMAD Micro Homes |
Waste |
|
BluMetric Environmental Inc. |
Waste |
|
DEW Camp Sustainment (DCS) System |
DEW Engineering and Development ULC – Team Lead |
Energy |
Osorno Enterprises Inc. |
Liquid waste |
|
Innocorps Research Corporation |
Water |
|
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology |
Solid Waste |
|
Autonomous Resilient Community Systems (ARCS) |
Terragon Environmental Technologies Inc. |
Waste |
Terragon Environmental Technologies Inc. |
Water |
|
Tugliq Energie Co. |
Energy |
|
Robust, Efficient Solutions for Pop Up City |
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Water |
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Waste |
|
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Energy |
|
Technologically Efficient Solutions for Pop Up City |
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Water |
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Waste |
|
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Energy |
Round 1 winners
Congratulations to our Round 1 winners! Each winner received a $10,000 prize and was invited to participate in Round 2 to present their innovative solution at an integration partnering event.
Technical Domain | Proposal title | Company Name |
---|---|---|
Energy |
Autonomous Mobile Energy System |
0939292 B.C. LTD. (Ascent Systems Technologies) |
Energy |
Augmented Combined Heat and Power |
1232404 B.C. LTD |
Energy |
Multi-Fuel Generator |
2533609 Ontario Inc. (Teznic) |
Energy |
ATCO Pop Up City Energy Solution: Transportable Hybrid Microgrid |
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Energy |
LPWAN Monitoring for Deployed Camps – Real Time Operational Analysis for Efficiency Gains |
CityKinect Inc |
Energy |
DEW RTC Cooling, Heating, and Electrical Management System (CHEMS) |
DEW Engineering and Development ULC |
Energy |
Electricity generation from any heat source with external heat engines |
Ekstera Inc. |
Energy |
Deployable Modular Micro Grid System |
Frobisher Energy Services LTD. |
Energy |
High-Efficiency Modular DC-Coupled Microgrid for Military Camp |
Governors of University of Alberta |
Energy |
Grengine™ Power System |
Growing Greener Innovations, Inc. (GGI) |
Energy |
The Tri-fuel power generation and energy storage system – using Hydrogen Diesel and Natural Gas |
Orbital Farm Inc. |
Energy |
SEM Camp |
Pop Up City Inc. |
Energy |
Modular, off the grid, power generator that operates on temperature differential |
Proteus Systems Inc. |
Energy |
Hybrid low-Inertia Turbine Storage System (HITTS) |
Rival-lab |
Energy |
SHES – Smart Hybrid Energy System |
Ryerson University (BeTOP) |
Energy |
Hybrid Solar System Energy Solution with Heat Storage and Recovery |
Solar Photonics Inc. |
Energy |
Advanced Integrated Offgrid Energy Platform |
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology |
Energy |
Microréseau hybride – Intégration d'énergie renouvelable modulable |
Tugliq Energie S.A.R.F |
Energy |
LiMO – Less in More Out |
WM Design Solutions Inc. |
Waste |
ATCO Pop Up City Waste Solution: Advanced Modular Wastewater Treatment System |
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Waste |
Mobile Wastewater Treatment Plant (MWWTP) |
BluMetric Environmental Inc. |
Waste |
Salle de Filtration Ecologique |
Darcom Innovations Inc. |
Waste |
Electrochemical Processing Technologies |
1232404 B.C. LTD |
Waste |
Sedna: High efficiency containerized treatment of RTC wastewater |
Eyes of the Shepherdess Inc. |
Waste |
SMARTCYCLE Wastewater Treatment and Reuse |
HCT Sustainables Limited |
Waste |
Conversion of wet and dry waste streams to energy and clean water using Supercritical water oxidation technology. |
Linden Water Inc. |
Waste |
NOMAD Modular Sewer Treatment (NOMAD MST) |
NOMAD Micro Homes Inc. |
Waste |
Containerized mobile packaged sewage treatment plant with sludge collection system, and integrated solar power. |
Osorno Enterprises Inc. |
Waste |
Wastewater Management Solution |
SNC-Lavalin Inc. |
Waste |
Waste and Waste-Water Recycling System |
Solar Photonics Inc. |
Waste |
Remote Ecological Waste Upgrade and Recovery System |
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology |
Waste |
Integrated Solid and Liquid Waste Treatment Solution |
Terragon Environmental Technologies Inc. |
Waste |
Closed-loop waste and wastewater treatment |
University of Waterloo |
Water |
Potable Water replenishment from waste water |
11680136 Canada Inc |
Water |
ATCO Pop Up City Water Solution: Modular Fixed Film Wastewater Treatment System |
ATCO Frontec Ltd. |
Water |
Hybrid Solar-Thermal Membrane Distillation Process for Water Recycling and Reuse for RTCs |
Concordia University |
Water |
Comprehensive water treatment technology using spent coffee grounds |
Governors of University of Alberta |
Water |
Reducing supplied potable water for RTCs through enhanced water recovery and direct potable reuse of wastewater |
Innocorps Research Corporation |
Water |
Reduction of water usage by treating RTC black water using Supercritical water oxidation technology |
Linden Water Inc. |
Water |
Novel Electrocoagulation Approach for Greywater Treatment to Reduce Potable Water Requirements |
Terragon Environmental Technologies Inc. |
Water |
Integrated Scalable Renewable Powered Water Treatment Systems |
TMBNExtrados Inc |
Water |
Water Recycling Hydrogels for Portable Water Management |
University of PEI |
Full Challenge
A Contest to Develop Integrated Utilities Management Systems
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) must be ready to deploy on short notice, in any climate and for prolonged periods. The CAF presently relies on Relocatable Temporary Camps (RTCs) for its deployments that sustain personnel through demanding operational and environmental conditions.
The Department of National Defence’s (DND) Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Program is calling innovators on to propose and develop solutions that provide integrated energy, water and waste management systems for the CAF’s RTCs deployed in national and international operations.
The “Pop up City” Contest is a multi-phased contest for innovators to propose and develop reliable, energy efficient, integrated and scalable energy, water and waste management systems for RTCs. Contests are a competitive means of finding innovative solutions and awarding prizes to the best solutions derived from the innovation community. Specifically, this Contest is seeking solutions designed to manage the energy, water and waste needs of a 150 to 1,500-person RTC, operating in a temperate climate zone.
To standardize the required performance capacity for system designs, contestants will be supplied with per capita data for energy and water consumption, and waste production, along with representative annual climate data, including wind and solar patterns. Contestants will be asked to provide scalable solutions that can supply the requirements of RTCs over a 12-month period in this climate zone. System designs which would also allow for the occasional deployment to extreme hot and/or frigid climatic zones are strongly encouraged.
Contest Challenge Objectives
The objectives of the Pop up City Contest are to:
- Stimulate the innovation and development of solutions that significantly reduce RTC fuel and water inputs, and waste outputs, while maintaining specified performance capacities.
- Build on Canadian strengths to develop solutions that achieve a reduction of current fuel and water input and waste output by the following specific targets:
- at least a 33% reduction in the fuel supplied to the RTCs;
- at least a 33% reduction of the current potable water supplied to the RTCs; and
- at least a 33% reduction in the solid and liquid waste requiring disposal from the RTCs.
Desired Outcomes and Considerations
Inefficiencies in current practices lead to a higher requirement for fuel and water resupply and waste removal. This has the knock-on effect of greatly increasing the transport logistics during operations. DND/CAF believe that significant gains in the efficiencies of RTC utilities systems would have an overall beneficial impact on deployed operations. In addition to making better use of known technologies, this may be achieved both by the introduction of innovative technologies, and by combining these technologies into a single, integrated system for RTC utilities. Scalable and transportable solutions are needed that minimize purchasing requirements, transportation costs and logistical demands. The Pop up City Contest is being issued to the Canadian innovation community to address this.
Desired Outcomes
Successful proposals can incorporate existing technologies, modifications, or new innovations that can be developed to testable integrated solutions at Solution Readiness Level (SRL) 6 by the end of the Contest (See Annex A for SRL definitions). Integrated solutions for the management of energy, waste and water for RTCs are expected to deliver the following desired outcomes:
- designed to supply and manage given per capita requirements for energy and water consumption, and waste generation (data provided in Table 1 below);
- designed to minimize RTC fuel and water input and waste output;
- designed with secure centralized control, capable at a minimum of monitoring energy and water consumption;
- scalable for RTCs accommodating from 150 to 1,500 persons;
- designed for continuous operation over a 12-month period using the sample climate data provided;
- transportable in standard 20-foot (6.1 m) intermodal containers; and
- designed for durability and high reliability, both in transport and in operation. A plan for maintenance and replacement of hardware/software components must be included.
Contestants should note that reducing per capita consumption, for example by improving accommodation insulation or by changing personnel behaviours, while important, is outside the scope of the Contest.
How it works
The Contest consists of four competitive rounds that contestants will pass through for a chance to win a grand prize of $2.0 million. Each round is designed to progress towards the development of a functioning and testable prototype integrated solution, capable of delivering the desired outcomes of the Contest.
Prizes will be awarded in each Round of the Contest. Awards for Rounds 1, 2, and 4 will be in the form of a grant. In Round 3, finalists will receive funding in the form of a contribution agreement.
Description of image
- Submission of proposals for each technical domain
- Contestant eligibility established
- Expert evaluation
- Up to 10 Contestants for each technical domain to receive a $10,000 grant to continue to Round 2
- Grant recipients from Round 1 continue
- Partnering event
- Submission of integrated solutions
- Expert evaluation
- Up to 10 Semi-finalist teams to receive a $50,000 grant to continue to Round 3
- Grant recipients from Round 2 continue
- Pitch event
- Expert evaluation
- Up to 3 finalist teams eligible for a contribution of up to $1,500,000 for the development of a prototype and to continue to Round 4
- Contribution recipients from Round 3 continue
- Testing of prototypes
- Technical evaluation
- Selection of grand prize winner
- Grand prize of $2,000,000
Round 1 Individual solutions
Round 2 Integrated Solutions
Round 3 PITCH & Prototype Development
Round 4 PROTOTYPE Testing
Who is eligible?
To be eligible contestants must be a legal entity duly incorporated and validly existing in Canada, including:
- Canadian post-secondary institutions;
- Incorporated Canadian not-for-profit organizations or associations;
- Provincial/territorial, municipal government organizations;
- Incorporated Canadian for-profit companies, organizations or associations;
- Any group, cluster or consortium composed of eligible recipients.
Federal government departments/agencies and federal and provincial Crown Corporations and their employees are not eligible for participation in this Contest.
The IDEaS Program will request a contestant to demonstrate its eligibility. Contestants who fail to demonstrate eligibility will not be considered in the From the Ground Up Contest
What is the deadline to apply?
The Contest is now closed to new applications.
Reference documents
Program Guide
Application Form [PDF, 59KB]
Declaration Form [PDF, 150KB]
Contest Q’s & A’s
For the purposes of this Contest, temperature, precipitation, daylight and wind data obtained for Brandon, Manitoba, should be used for all design considerations and calculations.
Climate data
Wind data
Daylight data
Electrical load profile data
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