California Mobility Center, Invest Alberta and EnerTech Capital sign MOU dubbed ‘a win for cleantech investment’

A new partnership established through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aims to advance the mobility sector in North America. The signing of the MOU by the California Mobility Center (CMC), Invest Alberta (IAC) and EnerTech Capital is being called “a win for cleantech investment and emissions reduction.”

The MOU establishes a new intercontinental collaboration around regulatory policy and investment strategies.

“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,” said Rick Christiaanse, CEO of Invest Alberta.

California, where CMC is based, occupies about 50 percent of the U.S.’s total electric vehicle market share. CMC helps early-stage companies and industry incumbents successfully launch mobility products to market. It is 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.

The CMC announced a similar collaboration in March with the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC), based in Doha, Qatar. The QMIC partnership increases cross-collaboration in the Middle East in the fields of intelligent mobility and smart cities.

“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,” said CMC COO Mark Rawson.

One of the founding partners of CMC, EnerTech, is leveraging its Global Strategic Mobility Fund (GSMF) to invest in early to growth-stage privately held companies working in the advanced mobility sector.

Both EnerTech and the CMC are building a localization strategy in the Canadian market to seek mobility sector investments and local collaboration opportunities. 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.

Invest Alberta explains it 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.

“Alberta is quickly becoming a destination of choice for cleantech investment, while IAC continues to attract high-value investments to the province, including opportunities in advanced mobility solutions. Through our partnership with the CMC, Alberta can become a key player in the Canadian localization plan that EnerTech and the CMC are developing in Canada,” added Christiaanse. “We plan to leverage Alberta’s expertise and leadership in hydrogen technologies to attract high-impact investment to the province and expand opportunities for Alberta companies in other markets.”