​This session presents a systematic approach to framing the process technology development steps required to de-risk your innovations. Drawing on over twenty-five years of industrial experience and a defined methodology, the UBC ATR Launch team will share what it takes to bring a process technology from the lab to commercial ready.

​Whether you are a PI, researcher, innovator, entrepreneur, or simply a curious mind interested in process technology development, this session is for you!

​Join us and connect with others in UBC's innovation community!

​Light Lunch / refreshments provided. Please register to coordinate catering.

​Brought to you by the Discovery Foundation's Go to Market program, delivered by Innovation UBC and the UBC ATR Launch Team.

​Location

​Chemical and Biological Engineering Building (CHBE) 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3
Room 202

​Speaker Bios

​Sergio Beretta, Professor of Practice, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science.

​Sergio leads the scaling feasibility analysis work of the ATR Launch team. With over twenty-five years of industrial experience on the scale-up, de-risking, and detailed engineering design of novel process technologies, Sergio's experience includes fifteen years working in the design and commissioning of large chemical plants worldwide, with projects on four continents. Sergio is the past vice-president and chief operating officer of BC Research, a Canadian research and development service provider with international reach. Sergio joined UBC in 2019 and is the designer and developer of UBC's Technology Commercialization for the Manufacturing Industry course and co-designer and co-developer of UBC's Carbon Capture, Conversion, and Sequestration Technologies course.

​Basil Rohlfs, ATR Launch Technical Analyst, BioProducts Institute

​Basil is a fifth-year Chemical Engineering student with a minor in Chemistry at UBC. He has completed the core Chemical Engineering curriculum, including capstone design, where his project won the 2026 CSChE Plant and Process Design Competition. In his current role with the ATR Launch Program, he contributes to the technical development and de-risking of process technologies for early-stage ventures.

​About the Discovery Foundation

​The goal of the Discovery Foundation initiative is to develop a critical foundational understanding of Truth and Reconciliation across Innovation UBC for existing members and incoming venture teams. We aim to build relationships with Indigenous communities by developing an engagement framework that seeks to establish collaborations between UBC scientist-entrepreneurs and Indigenous communities to co-identify critical climate issues to address.

​About UBC ATR Launch

​The UBC ATR Launch Program supports the technical gap between laboratory-stage research and commercial-scale development. UBC ATR Launch supports innovators to define and implement the development work required to de-risk process technologies as they scale-up. Focused on early-stage technologies, the program provides hands-on support for innovators. This support strengthens the technical value proposition of their technology and accelerates the technology's readiness for investment and scale-up. UBC ATR Launch works in partnership with UBC's broader innovation ecosystem, complementing commercial support resources such as Innovation UBC, while maintaining a clear focus on the technical development pathway.

​To find out more, express your interest as a process technology innovator, or to collaborate with innovators, contact either Richard Sones at Richard.Sones@ubc.ca or Basil Rohlfs basil.rohlfs@ubc.ca. We would love to hear from you.

​About Innovation UBC

​Innovation UBC works with UBC’s researchers to support and accelerate the translation of their research into real world impacts. Through research partnerships, technology transfer, and venture building services, UBC researchers have access to a robust ecosystem of services and support to strengthen their translation opportunities.

​Visit our website innovation.ubc.ca to learn more.

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