SmartWhale Consulting

State of the Algal Carbon Conversion Industry

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:26:11 +0000

In February 2012, the National Research Council (NRC) held its Algal Carbon Conversion Workshop in Halifax. Sixty research scientists, business people and policy makers discussed the opportunities and challenges of employing photosynthetic carbon dioxide conversion to create high-value algae-based products.

SmartWhale Consulting was engaged to summarize workshop discussions and assess the state of the algal carbon conversion industry. Key topics addressed include: algae strain identification and productivities; photobioreactors, lighting, and monitoring and control; harvesting and de-watering technologies; high-value algae-based products; and, regulatory regimes.

Workshop and industry findings will help guide future activities related to algal carbon conversion deployments.

Photo credit: National Research Council Canada

Showcasing the Halifax Gateway

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:03:37 +0000

The Halifax Gateway includes all of the businesses and organizations in Halifax that link others to the rest of North America by air, sea, road and rail. The Halifax Stanfield International Airport, the Port of Halifax, CN Rail and the logistics and warehousing sector key components of the Halifax Gateway.

The Halifax Gateway Council engaged SmartWhale Consulting to develop an in-depth profile of the Halifax Gateway. It provides potential investors with a comprehensive overview of Halifax’s transportation and logistics assets, as well as the supports available to investors in the city.

See the Halifax Transportation and Logistics Sector Profile.

Institutional Capacity-Building

admin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:42:15 +0000

SmartWhale Consulting’s Institutional Capacity-Building services are aimed at providing organizations in developing countries and transition economies with the skills and mechanisms needed to foster private sector development.

More specifically, we assist international financial institutions (IFIs), governments, industry associations and business development authorities to:

-Establish economic development authorities and investment promotion agencies;
-Forge public-private partnerships for economic development;
-Develop and implement Business Retention and Expansion programs;
-Establish technology-driven market intelligence programs to increase inward foreign direct investment;
-Facilitate trade through export mentoring; and,
-Provide actionable research to grow business at home and abroad.

Our capacity-building services and products include:

-Small Micro & Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMME) Development
-Business Support Organisation (BSO) Support
-Competitive Intelligence
-Sector Studies & Growth Strategies
-Business/Marketing Plan Development

Fred Morley Greater Halifax Partnership

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:19:09 +0000

“We’ve used SmartWhale Consulting’s services for a number of reasons. Jake Whalen understands our needs, is quick to get work done, and our partners enjoy working with him. He grasps complex issues with ease, and he produces the solid research we need to grow our municipality.”

Dale Robertson Enerscan Engineering Inc

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:17:20 +0000

“SmartWhale Consulting led a study for me. Not only was its work precise and on time, by the completion of the project SmartWhale had done what would have cost us twenty per cent more from any other consultant, and likely their work would have been less complete and less professional. We were completely satisfied and have planned further work directly as a result of this good work. The benefits to Nova Scotia will be significant.”

Stephen O’Leary Institute for Marine Biosciences — National Research Council Canada

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:03:11 +0000

“Working with Smart Whale Consulting was effortless and brought specialized research and analysis capabilities to our program that would have otherwise been lacking. Mr. Whalen’s ability to gather, evaluate, and package complex data from a variety of sources and effectively communicate the relevant information to senior decision-makers in Canada and the United States greatly accelerated the progress of our international collaboration in renewable fuels development and has been critical to the successful completion of project milestones and deliverables.”

Jo Ann Fewer Colchester Regional Development Agency

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:58:27 +0000

“Jake Whalen does a thorough job of mining relevant and pertinent information for a project. He is competent at transferring that data into solid recommendations. I was extremely pleased with his work.”

Jeff Mactavish City of Miramichi

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:34:09 +0000

“When the City of Miramichi decided to diversify its economic base into green energy, we had visions of wind turbines on our skylines and solar panels reaching towards the sun producing energy. SmartWhale Consulting provided us with a different vision for diversification based on our manufacturing strengths in the region. The attraction strategy developed by SmartWhale Consulting provides a clearer vision of where we should be going in our diversification efforts, and is based on the human capital assets of the region. It will allow us to focus our attraction efforts on selling our people and infrastructure instead of financial incentives.”

Michael McCabe Stikeman Elliott-Experco International

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:32:15 +0000

“Mr. Whalen did a terrific job for us in Hanoi. He took the initiative with our senior Vietnamese government counterparts and helped them define the issues in the areas in which they sought assistance. He did the back-up research thoroughly and organized effective workshops designed to bring Canadian expertise and experience to the development of Vietnam’s emerging market economy and legal framework.”

Carolyn Nicholson Entrepreneurs’ Forum

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:04:41 +0000

“SmartWhale Consulting provided exceptional feedback and advice very relevant to our clients’ needs and challenges. We are thrilled to have the firm as one of our newest advisors and welcome the opportunity to work with SmartWhale in the future!”