The Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan) is investing $9.9 million CAD into Innovate BC to help grow the agency’s Integrated Marketplace initiative.
The Integrated Marketplace, launched last year, aims to help BC-based technology companies develop and operate new innovations that address business challenges and advance climate goals.
The new funding for the Integrated Marketplace is in addition to an $11.5-million investment from the provincial government.
Delivered by Innovate BC, the program builds a network of industry partners to identify challenges and put in place technological solutions that help large-scale organizations decarbonize, increase competitiveness, and improve health and safety.
Innovate BC hopes the initiative will open doors for BC companies to prove out their technologies, and commercialize, sell, and export new products and services while reducing risk for buyers.
The new funding for the Integrated Marketplace, which is being provided through PacifiCan’s Regional Innovation Ecosystems program, follows an $11.5-million investment into the program from the Government of BC in December 2022.
The federal government announced the new funding at the Port of Vancouver, operated by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which was introduced as the program’s third industry testbed site. At the Port of Vancouver, the project will focus on developing digital tools to make supply chain improvements, which is expected to increase the port’s operational reliability and capacity.
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The program’s first two testbeds were launched over the past year at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and the Port of Prince Rupert. For its initial testbed project, YVR is electrifying its support vehicles on the airfield to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions. At the Port of Prince Rupert, tests are being conducted to reduce use of diesel fuel, which will decarbonize operations and increase the port’s efficiency and competitiveness.
According to the federal government, each testbed under the initiative will be provided up to $1 million annually over three years to support the development and sourcing of tech solutions.
The federal funding is part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions nationwide by 2050. In a statement, the government said the Integrated Marketplace is aimed at not only accelerating the development and adoption of clean technologies, but also opening up new markets and attracting talent to the province.
“By linking local companies with opportunities to demonstrate new products, we are accelerating the adoption of made-in-B.C. technology both domestically and abroad. PacifiCan’s support of the Integrated Marketplace is a critical step towards making our industries more competitive,” Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s minister of emergency preparedness and minister responsible for PacifiCan, said in a statement.
Image source Unsplash. Photo by Matt Hanns Schroeter.
