Disruptors

In this episode, you'll learn
Why batteries now act as capacity on the grid, with solar and wind as the fuel that refills them
Why data centre developers that bet on natural gas are now paying for batteries and demand flexibility
How home batteries can back up a whole grid, and why generators cost households money while solar and storage save it
Why appliance makers, carmakers and tech companies want to be paid for the flexibility in the devices people already own
How the Loan Programs Office picked winners, and why lasting change takes a ten-year commitment
Chapters
0:00 - Energy's most disruptive year
1:16 - Energy costs on the ballot
2:53 - Why data centres are buying batteries
4:57 - Grid storage is already here
7:05 - Batteries at home
11:04 - Central power or local power?
14:40 - Every appliance wants a piece of the grid
17:16 - Lessons from the Loan Programs Office
21:35 - Where electrification goes next
23:55 - John's takeaways

Previous Disruptors Episodes
Powering Canada: Electricity and Data Centres: Data centre demand on Canada's grid, with Sonia Sennik and Alberta's Nate Glubish
Climate-led Investing: What's Next: Last year's Climate Action report episode, with Clara Barby of Just Climate



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At SpaceBound in Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from Parliament Hill, John Stackhouse sat down with three people at the centre of Canada's push to reach orbit on its own terms.
Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat, is building Telesat Lightspeed, a global low-Earth orbit broadband constellation conceived, built and operated in Canada, with MDA as prime contractor. Its satellites will reach orbit on American rockets. Goldberg explains why defence and sovereignty have moved from a niche to a central source of demand for satellite services since the war in Ukraine, and why Canada's head start matters to allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
He supports a domestic launch capability but is clear-eyed about the bar. An operator competing with SpaceX, Amazon and state-owned Chinese operators needs launch that is reliable, affordable and frequent.
Hugh Kolias, co-founder and CEO of Canada Rocket Company, and Bachar Elzein, founder and CEO of Reaction Dynamics, are trying to meet that bar from different directions. Kolias is building a larger vehicle with proven technology and engineers who have built rockets before. Elzein is building containerized rockets that can be stored and launched from remote sites, with simpler propulsion to drive down cost.
The conversation builds on RBC Thought Leadership's Mission Critical report on why Canada's race to space is a matter of national urgency.

0:00 Live from SpaceBound
0:56 Telesat Lightspeed and Canada's place in low-Earth orbit
3:06 Defence, sovereignty and where demand is coming from
4:54 Why launch is a sovereign capability
9:28 Canada Rocket Company: speed, capital and talent
12:57 What a satellite operator needs from launch
15:22 Reaction Dynamics: cutting complexity to cut cost
19:16 Looking ahead to SpaceBound next year

Relevant Reports and Podcasts:

From Ottawa to Orbit: Two Views on Canada's Big Day. Colonel Jeremy Hansen, whose name is on Canada Rocket Company's new engine test facility. (PODCAST)

Atlantic Canada: Launching Sovereignty (The Canada Project). Stephen Matier of Maritime Launch Services and Rahul Goel of NordSpace, on the Canso spaceport Goldberg mentions. (PODCAST)

Space: The Low Earth Orbit Movement. Dan Goldberg's earlier Disruptors appearance, with Mike Greenley of MDA Space and Dr. Margarita Marinova. (PODCAST)
Mission Critical: Why Canada's race to space is of national urgency. The report Stackhouse references on air.
A Higher Orbit: How Canada can build and finance a bolder space strategy.

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In the latest episode of Disruptors, host John Stackhouse travels to Innisfail, Alta., a little more than an hour north of Calgary. There he joins Alex Petre, the CEO of Deep Sky, a direct air capture company that finds itself in the middle of a geo-tech race.
The two discuss whether direct air capture technology can scale, how to test competing systems side-by-side, and how Canada’s geology, labor force, fiscal regime and reputation as a trusted partner can turn carbon removal into a competitive advantage.

0:00 Inside Deep Sky Alpha
0:48 Why carbon removal, and how direct air capture works
4:32 Multiple technologies on one site
7:26 Can direct air capture scale?
9:22 Building the first commercial facilities
11:49 The global race for carbon removal
15:01 What Canada needs to do next

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Spin Master co-founder Ronnen Harary believes Canada needs more entrepreneurs—especially young ones. In this episode of Disruptors, he joins host John Stackhouse to explain why your 20s offer the perfect window to start a business: you’re close to emerging trends, you have permission to fail, and you possess the “power of not knowing” that lets you take risks mature companies won’t.
Ronnen shares the story of building Spin Master from Earth Buddies to global brands like Air Hogs, Hatchimals, and Paw Patrol. He introduces the concept of “inverse risk”—the idea that not pursuing your entrepreneurial vision may be riskier than trying and failing. And he makes the case that despite economic uncertainty, AI disruption is creating unprecedented opportunities for young founders willing to move fast.

Chapters:
00:00 Why Canada needs more young entrepreneurs
01:39 Why your 20s are the best decade to start a business
03:49 The power of not knowing: the Air Hogs story
05:28 Immigrant roots, dysgraphia and an early entrepreneur
08:42 Earth Buddy and the birth of Spin Master
10:30 Tracking down the Kmart buyer
13:32 Inverse risk: from Earth Buddy to PAW Patrol
16:30 Why doesn't Canada have more entrepreneurs?
17:34 Futurpreneur and collateral-free loans
18:27 AI, Stickerbox and the most exciting time to start
21:23 Advice to his 23-year-old self



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Alberta wants $100 billion of AI data centre investment within five years, without subsidies. Recorded live at Energy Disruptors: UNITE in Calgary, Alberta's Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, tells John Stackhouse why he sees data centres as "digital refineries" that turn natural gas into intelligence. He explains how bring-your-own-power rules protect the grid and ratepayers, why projects proposed for Sturgeon County and Olds ended so differently, and what a proposed second round of grid power could look like. A conversation about energy, AI and where Canada's computing power gets built.

Chapters
0:00 Live from Energy Disruptors: UNITE
0:42 The mood shift on data centres
4:42 Value-added economics
8:33 The Alberta model: water, setbacks, Meta vs. Olds
16:05 Exporting the intelligence
17:55 The power queue and Phase 2
21:27 Sizing the opportunity
22:36 Public opinion and responsible AI
Guest: Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology and Innovation, Government of Alberta
Host: John Stackhouse, Senior Vice-President, Office of the CEO, RBC

Recent RBC Thought Leadership Reports:
License to build: Unlocking Canada's data centre potential





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