Today's News

Vancouver, BC, January 19, 2023--(T-Net)--Innovate BC and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) announced today that they are providing a combined total of $2 million in research and development funding to help 14 companies pilot their technologies and create new jobs across B.C.

The program helps small and medium sized businesses design, build, and operate a pilot plant or small demonstration of their technology while helping to solve real world problems.

Examples of these solutions include mitigating the impacts of climate change, improving operational efficiencies, and increasing health and safety.

By providing up to $200,000 in funding for each project, the B.C. Fast Pilot program enables B.C. technology companies to demonstrate the impact of their product, measure the value of their solution, and encourage customer adoption. For customers, the program offers a way to minimize some of the risk that traditional industries encounter when adopting new technologies.

Meet the latest round of 14 BC Fast Pilot program awardees:

Axolotl Biosciences develops high-quality bioinks for 3D printing human tissue models to be used for research and drug discovery. This pilot project demonstrates a novel bioink that accurately prints humanized brain tissues for neurodegenerative research and drug screening process to multiple B.C. academic labs and industry partners. Pilot Region: Lower Mainland

CRWN.ai provides utility companies worldwide with the data to extend the overall lifetime of transmission lines, decrease environmental and liability risk, optimize revenues, and increase operational efficiencies. This pilot project will demonstrate continuous, real-time monitoring of transmission line defects using IOT devices. Pilot Region: Central Interior BC

GRT is developing a new way to remediate contaminated soils, using soil washing technologies and advanced water treatment. This pilot project will validate soil washing of coal-laden soil and ensure that the by-product is pure enough to be re-used as an ignition source. Pilot Region: Vancouver Island

Novarc Technologies is a Vancouver-based full-stack robotics company specializing in the design and commercialization of cobots and AI systems for robotic welding applications. This pilot project tests and validates the first clean intelligent orbital welding machine. Pilot Region: Northern BC

NuGrid Power Corp's mission is to make the electric power grid safer, more sustainable, and more resilient. This pilot project will focus on using NuGrid wideband optical voltage and electric field sensors for novel applications in the electric power grid. Pilot Region: Sunshine Coast

Origen Air transforms interior spaces by bringing nature's benefits indoors with genetically mastered air purification solutions to accelerate human potential and sustainability goals. This pilot project will demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of a biophilic air purifier in four unique operational environments to determine efficacy in clean air delivery rate (CADR) for the removal of indoor air pollutants. Pilot Region: Greater Victoria

pH7 is a cleantech company that designs and implements methodologies for sustainable extraction and refining of strategic metals, essential for the transition to renewable energy. This pilot project will provide the industry with a solution for sustainable extraction of Platinum Group Metals from secondary and primary resources by applying green, biodegradable, and recyclable solvents instead of smelting methodologies. Pilot Region: Lower Mainland

RainStick is currently developing point-of-use water technology with the ability to capture and reuse embodied heat energy water. This pilot project will demonstrate their flagship technology, the 'RainStick Shower' and the impact of its circular shower technology to a viable partner and growing industry segment in B.C. Pilot Region: Gulf Islands

Progressive Planet is an established B2B manufacturer whose pioneering technology turns post-consumer glass into high-performance cement using CO2 sequestration. This project will support the development of a pilot plant for this new and proprietary supplementary cementitious material (SCM), PozGlass™ 100G, to begin field trials for large multinational cement companies and concrete producers.  Pilot Region: Central Interior BC

SenseNet Inc. offers an integrated Internet-of-Things (IoT) system that revolutionizes data collection and analysis for large-scale IoT applications with focus on early detection of wildfire to protect public communities and private industries from the damaging effects of wildfires. This pilot project involves the installation of their IoT system as a wildfire monitoring and protection belt around City of Vernon

Pilot Region: Okanagan Valley

SkyAcres is an agri-tech company developing low-cost, cutting-edge vertical farming technologies to increase food security in rural and First Nations communities across Canada. This pilot project will support a field test and demonstration of indoor vertical farming systems at a First Nations Community in Northern B.C. Pilot Region: Central Interior BC

Verdi builds technology-enabled services that allow food and beverage companies to optimize the productivity and sustainability of their operations. This pilot project will build a large-scale, closed-loop irrigation system for 20 to 100 acres of vineyards, including the integration of smart devices to optimize a farm's crop productivity and sustainability. Pilot Region: Okanagan Valley

Wellons serves its purpose through designing, engineering, manufacturing, and
installing energy systems or lumber drying kilns. This pilot project involves the design, fabrication, and demonstration of an innovative wastewater treatment pilot plant to remove organic contaminants from condensate produced during the drying of lumber in continuous drying kilns. Pilot Region: Okanagan Valley

Wiser Marine Technologies develops breakthrough technologies in marine solar power and augmented reality navigation systems for marine pleasure vessels. This project develops and demonstrates a high-efficiency floating solar tracking PV platform which can be scaled up to provide community-level power generation. Pilot Region: Central/North Island

Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation

"As we work together to solve the problems of today and prepare us for the future, medium and small sized businesses are critical to our path to creating a strong and inclusive economy that works for everyone," said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. "The BC Fast Pilot program helps businesses move their products to market and create solutions for a sustainable future. I want to congratulate all of the companies receiving funding today, and I look forward to seeing their innovative projects contribute to a stronger British Columbia."

This is the fourth round of funding through the BC Fast Pilot program, which was launched in 2019.

In the past three years of the program, 48 pilot demonstrations have been funded a combined total of $5.9 million. Notable outcomes include the creation of 97 jobs, the acquisition of 102 new customers, and an increase of $12M in new revenue for participating projects.

Raghwa Gopal, President and CEO, Innovate BC

"We're so happy to have delivered the BC Fast Pilot Program with NRC IRAP for four years now," says Raghwa Gopal, President and CEO of Innovate BC. "We're thrilled to help B.C. innovators attract their first customer and to see the success of this initiative which has generated jobs, reduced GHG emissions, created opportunities for First Nations communities, and contributed to the growth of B.C.'s innovation economy."

This fourth round of funding prioritizes regional projects, with a focus on cleantech and projects that involve physical installations and are capital intensive in nature, and those that involve Indigenous communities or organizations.

Learn More

• Meet the Round 4 Awardees
• About the BC Fast Pilot program
• About NRC IRAP

About Innovate BC

Innovate BC helps foster innovation in B.C. so that British Columbians in all regions of the province can benefit from a thriving, sustainable, and inclusive innovation economy. A Crown Agency of British Columbia, Innovate BC funds and delivers programs that support the growth of the B.C. economy by helping companies start and scale, train talent that meets labour market needs, and encourage technology development, commercialization, and adoption. https://www.innovatebc.ca/

About National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP)

The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) is Canada's leading innovation assistance program for small and medium-sized businesses.

If you operate an innovative small or medium-sized business in Canada, we can help you build your innovation capacity and take your ideas to market. We do this through financial assistance, advisory services and connections to the best business and R&D expertise in Canada. It's a winning model we've been using to drive business growth—and Canada's innovation system—for over 70 years. https://nrc.canada.ca/en/support-technology-innovation