Avatar Participant Profile: Kaiden Powell

The mechanical engineer in training at Stantec was one of the CRIN-supported participants in Ignite, a leadership development program that tackles energy technology challenges.

Powell says that at the start of Ignite, everything is calm, and teams are setting the foundations for their projects. By the end of the program, it seems like there isn’t enough time in each day to do all the explorations and have all the technical conversations you want to have. Each day along the way involved learning new things.

Developing an entrepreneurial mindset was a key part of the program, Powell says.

“They teach you to think like an entrepreneur, see opportunities, and then pose solutions that could potentially be profitable.”

Powell’s team, RePhase, developed a solution that takes hydrocarbon waste sludge from midstream and downstream holding facilities and extracts paraffin wax to convert it into phase change materials.

“We wanted to create a new pathway for this paraffin wax trapped in hydrocarbon sludge to be able to become a more useful product down the line,” Powell says.

RePhase has been accepted into the Avatar Studio program, which is a technology studio that advances industry-validated concepts and IP.

“It’s super exciting to keep developing this idea further,” says Powell, the Technical Lead for the team. “The next steps in our design are to understand the materials and energy balance of our solution, to figure out how much it’s going to cost, and where our margins and profit really lie.”

Powell says the Avatar Program has confirmed his passion for engineering and working in both the detailed and broad scope of engineering.

“In the future, I hope to be able to do detailed design work in engineering, as well as feasibility studies,” he says.

The program has also sparked his interest in business development and entrepreneurial thinking – a path that he foresees potentially leading to pursuing an MBA in the future.

For anyone considering applying for the Avatar Program, Powell highly encourages it. He also advises future participants that “you get what you put in.”

“From the get-go, don’t be afraid to speak your mind on your ideas and connect with people in the group, and then, as the program develops, put in lots of work on your idea.”

That includes picking up the phone and calling experts related to your business concept.

“Leveraging those minds out there is so, so valuable,” he says.