Fifteen Nova Scotian companies have won a total of $590,000 in grants through Innovacorp’s 2018 Spark Innovation Challenge.

The provincial government’s venture capital and innovation agency announced the winners on Thursday, capping off the second annual province-wide Spark competition.

The goal of the Spark event, which began in Cape Breton five years ago, is to identify promising early-stage startups and provide them with $15,000 to $50,000 of operating capital. They must use the money to develop prototypes or take their products or services to market.

The Spark competition, which received 122 applications, awards prizes in four geographic regions across the province. It is funded by Innovacorp and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. 

The following are the winners, including our coverage of some companies:

SPARK CAPE BRETON

Commlet – Patsy Leadbeater – Sydney –  ($25,000)

Technology to monitor students exploring outdoor learning environments.

MindSentinel – Dave Johnson – North Sydney ($50,000)

Mobile app for alerting users of potential increased risk of mental illness.

TrAIner – Shea Munro, Krysta MacIntosh – Sydney ($50,000)

Mobile app to help optimize user’s movements when exercising or recovering from injury.

VMOpro – Matthew T. Gillis – River Ryan ($50,000)

Exercise and monitoring tool for knee rehabilitation, at home and in physiotherapy settings.

SPARK HALIFAX

ColourSmith Labs – Gabrielle Masone – Halifax –  ($25,000)

Direct-to-consumer contact lenses reducing red-green colour blindness and saturating colours.

ColourSmith Among the Winners at Volta Cohort

Eadie Technologies – Brennan Eadie, Frank R. Eadie – Halifax ($50,000)

Wearable visual field testing device for eye clinics.

Inspo – Peter Wünsch, Brian Jeffcock – Halifax ($50,000)

A simple yet powerful way to store, organize and compare ideas.

Panag Pharma – Mary Lynch, Melanie Kelly – Halifax –  ($50,000)

Cannabinoid-based formulations for treating pain and inflammation.

SPARK NORTH

Ashored Innovations – Aaron Stevenson, Ross Arsenault, Maxwell Poole – Debert – ($50,000)

Buoy systems to protect endangered marine life and collect data to increase fisher efficiency.

Ashored's Ropeless Traps Could Save Whales

Eggcitables – Hannah Chisholm – Heatherton ($15,000)

Plant-based egg alternative.

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SPARK WEST

Deep Cryogenics International – Jack Cahn, Linda Williams – Blandford – ($45,000)

Technology to reduce wear and corrosion on industrial, oil and gas, aerospace and marine items using a cold thermal process.

Sedna Technologies – Sheamus MacDonald, Aleksandr Stabenow – West Dublin ($50,000)

Solutions to reduce waste, mortality and product-integrity issues in the global seafood supply chain.

Oakleaf Crane & Inspection Services – Gary LeBlanc, Vince Stuart – Church Point ($50,000)

Assisted lifting device for lobster trap handling aboard fishing vessels.

Real Estate Dot Love – Catharine MacIntosh – Wolfville ($15,000)

Social platform connecting consumers in the real estate market with friends, agents and properties.

Tactical Acuity – Shawn Adams – Digby ($15,000)

Technology to track, position and map soldiers on the battlefield.