VANCOUVER — The B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) has announced the recipients of its latest funding opportunities, investing a total of $7.7 million in 13 climate tech companies.
The investment supports early-stage companies developing innovative clean energy and climate solutions, a release reads, with a focus on technologies that drive significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
News of the funding allocations comes after the CICE launched Canada’s first-ever funding opportunity for wildfire technologies this spring, committing up to $3 million to support companies developing solutions to better manage and mitigate the growing threat of wildfires.
“The companies we selected are developing cutting-edge solutions to reduce fire risk, improve response times, and protect vulnerable regions,” said Sarah Goodman, president and CEO of CICE, in a statement.
“This funding is a significant investment in B.C. and Canada’s ability to respond to one of the most urgent climate-related challenges we face, while also paving the way to reduce carbon emissions from these devastating events.”
CICE is investing a total of $3.5 million in six of the 74 companies that applied for the 2024 Wildfire Tech Call for Innovation. The companies include:
- CRWN.ai: Predicting wildfire risk with frequency and AI on the most remote transmission lines.
- FireSwarm Solutions Inc.: Wildfire suppression through autonomous drone swarms to detect, map and battle fires with precision and speed.
- Nova (Hummingbird Drones Inc.): Delivering real-time mapping with infrared scanning and machine learning, enabling fire teams to make swift, data-driven decisions.
- Skyward Wildfire Technologies Inc.: Groundbreaking lightning suppression technology to prevent wildfires and protect communities, industries, and forests.
- Voxelis Canada Corporation: Supercharging firefighting helicopters with advanced AI and sensor technology to combat wildfires.
- Wildfire Robotics Inc.: Advancing robotic systems that transform perimeter control and risk-reduction burning.
In addition to these companies, the CICE is also investing $4.2 million in seven B.C. climate tech companies, which were selected from 79 applicants to its July 2024 Call for Innovation.
These companies are advancing technologies in low-carbon hydrogen, battery technology, energy storage and low-carbon fuels, the release continues.
The projects include:
Battery and Energy Storage
- Edison Motors Ltd.: Transforming winter road maintenance with the world’s first EV tri-blade snowplow.
- NORAM Electrolysis Systems Inc.: Enabling sustainability in lithium battery manufacturing through circular processing.
Low Carbon Fuels
- AlgaFilm Technologies Ltd.: Revolutionizing wastewater treatment with algae to create clean water and sustainable biofuels.
- NanosTech Environmental Inc.: Validating a novel catalyst to convert agriculture and forestry-based oils into low carbon fuels.
Low Carbon Hydrogen
- Ekona Power Inc.: Disrupting clean hydrogen production with cost-effective solutions that convert carbon waste into catalysts for economic growth and GHG reduction.
- Quantum Technology Corp.: Eliminating hydrogen loss during storage and transfers, enabling efficient refueling for heavy transportation and remote applications.
- Unilia (Canada) Fuel Cells Inc.: Boosting hydrogen fuel cell efficiency, durability, and performance for zero-emission heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles to compete with diesel trucks.
To date, CICE has invested $39 million in 59 clean energy and climate technology projects valued at over $196 million through its open and directed calls for innovation.
Recent Comments