Designing the Future of Energy: Highlights from the Catalyst Challenge

This Fall, more than 80 SFU students embarked on a journey of exploration and innovation through Catalyst – Entrepreneurship Challenge, a Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship program designed to help teams of interdisciplinary students explore real-world problem spaces and develop creative solutions. These SFU students balanced program commitments alongside full course loads, meeting regularly outside of workshops to research, iterate, and refine their ideas.

The challenge concluded with live pitches from eight teams on November 19 2025 at SFU Burnaby’s Big Data Hub, where the ideas, teamwork, and entrepreneurial growth achieved by every participant were celebrated, and cash prizes were awarded to the Catalyst winners

The Challenge: Designing the Future of Energy

Through Catalyst Fall 2025,students from across SFU and a range of disciplines, responded to responded to a set of future-focused prompts provided by community partner Moment Energy, an SFU alumni-founded cleantech company leading innovation in second-life battery systems. 

Teams explored questions at the forefront of Canada's evolving energy landscape: how we power communities, modernize aging systems, and build a stronger clean-energy future.

Challenge themes included:

• Second-life energy solutions & Circularity
• Talent development & Retention
• Affordable & Customizable power
• Energy grid modernization & Infrastructure

This partnership brought together student creativity and industry expertise - bridging innovation with real-world challenges at the heart of Canada’s clean energy future.

How It Worked

Over a period of six weeks, participants engaged in guided learning, hands-on experimentation, and collaborative problem identification/solving supported by Chang Institute staff and mentors, and community partner founders. 

• Skill-Building Workshops 
  Led by The Chang Institute Mentor-in-Residence Doug Fast, students dove into problem identification, idea generation, and how to communicate their solutions through a final pitch.

• Founder Inspiration 
  Participants had access to one-on-one mentorship with Doug Fast and office hours with Moment Energy CEO & Co-Founder Edward Chiang, gaining insight into the realities of entrepreneurial growth, resilience and navigating uncertainty. Participants also had the opportunity to join a facility tour with Moment Energy, where many teams saw second-life battery systems in action, learned how the company operates day-to-day, and gained real-world inspiration to inform and refine their ideas.

• Entrepreneurial Toolkit 
  Teams used SPARK, an online pre-incubation workbook developed by the Chang Institute with curated training modules to guide problem discovery, validation, and solution design, to guide their solution development.

The Results

Eight interdisciplinary student teams from across SFU approached Moment Energy’s industry challenges with strong analytical thinking, creativity, and a shared motivation to develop solutions that could be realistically applied in the clean-energy sector. Through six weeks of workshops, tours, and mentorship, teams developed a strong understanding of user needs and industry realities, translating complex prompts into grounded, innovative ideas.

Finalist teams impressed judges with solutions that balanced technical innovation, feasibility, and long-term impact. The challenge prompts were translated into grounded, forward-looking ideas:

• First Place Team ($1,000) 
  From SFU’s Faculty of Applied Sciences, this team tackled supply-chain and trade uncertainty by proposing an AI-enabled platform that helps organizations anticipate disruptions and make smarter sourcing decisions. Judges praised the project for its practicality and its thoughtful blend of technology and strategic insight.

• Second Place Team ($500) 
  This team from the Faculty of Applied Sciences proposed AeroPod, a clean, mobile power unit that uses second-life EV batteries to replace fuel-intensive aircraft APUs. Their solution stood out for its strong market opportunity, clever use of second-life energy technology, and clear benefits for airports, airlines, and the environment.

• Third Place Team ($250) 
  Croissant Consulting, is a team of SFU students from Mechatronic Systems Engineering and the Beedie School of Business, that took on BC’s outdated energy grid and proposed a full ecosystem approach to speed up clean-energy adoption. This included clearer rules for second-life batteries and easy-to-deploy storage solutions for condos, remote areas, and emergency use. Judges loved how the idea connected the big picture with real, doable steps.

Pitch Event Highlights

The finals at the Big Data Hub brought together students, mentors, and industry leaders for an afternoon of pitching, judging, and connection. Judges from Moment Energy, SFU Technology Licensing Office, Mitacs, and SFU alumni provided key feedback from research, entrepreneurship, and industry perspectives. The room was filled with interactive Q&A and high-energy pitches as teams presented months of thinking in just a few minutes with participants showcasing not only creative solutions but also courage and adaptability throughout the fast-paced program. 

Why It Matters

At the heart of Catalyst — and all Chang Institute programs - is the belief that entrepreneurship is a process of discovery. Mistakes are integral to learning, and failing forward is an essential part of the entrepreneurial mindset development with every iteration bringing students closer to creating real-world impact.

Throughout the six week challenge teams demonstrated curiosity, collaboration, and a strong grasp of real user needs - all key ingredients in any entrepreneurial journey. 

Participants reflected on how Catalyst pushed their thinking beyond the classroom:

"The catalyst challenge gave me a real-world entrepreneurship experience without taking a single business class. It helped me discover how to turn complex challenges into compelling opportunities anyone can understand." 

“Catalyst 2025 was an incredible opportunity to tackle real-world challenges for Moment Energy. The experience made us approach the solution in a different way than the regular classroom; it showed us how impactful student innovation can be and allowed us to build a bigger industry network”

Throughout Catalyst, students learned how to:

• Test assumptions
• Work across disciplines
• Receive and apply feedback
• Fail forward and willingly iterate
• Transform ambiguity into opportunity 

The Fall 2025 term not only delivered bold ideas for Moment Energy but also helped students develop skills in collaboration, problem-solving, and leadership. Programs like Catalyst reflect SFU’s commitment to experiential learning that connects students with industry, community, and real-world impact. 

Coming Spring 2026: Catalyst is coming back!

Catalyst is back in Spring 2026 - in collaboration with anotherSFU student club and a new community partner. This next edition will invite even more students to tackle real-world challenges with innovation and heart. Interested in applying? Applications will open in late January. Keep an eye on the Catalyst webpage and follow the Chang Institute on social media for updates!

Want to keep building?

Explore other programs from the Chang Institute:

•  Apply any semester for funded co-op terms to work on your own startup through  Entrepreneurship Co-op (eCo-op) or in Spring 2026 Entrepreneurship Grad (eGrad)

• Have a new or early startup idea?  Enter the Idea Prize competition (Spring 2026) for great feedback and prizes!

• Take an entrepreneurship or innovation course (every semester) no matter what faculty you’re from, enroll in the transformational Technology Entrepreneurship @SFU (Fall 2026) program or declare for the interdisciplinary  Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship

• Access mentoring online through Mentor Meet (year-round), attend an in-person Pitch Social (monthly) or participate in many other year-round events.

• When you’re ready, explore entry requirements for the Chang Institute’s startup incubator

• Sign up for a newsletter to keep updated on opportunities, and follow us on IG!

Whether you're a first-time innovator or already exploring your next big idea, we're here to help you take the next step.

Thank You to Our Community

This iteration of Catalyst was made possible by the generous support and involvement of:

• Community Partner: Moment Energy
• Club Partner: OS Development
• Program Donors: Marion Man and Scott Shaw

• And to our mentors, judges, speakers, and volunteers — thank you!