CICE invests $7.6 million into nine B.C. cleantech companies

The B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy, known for supporting cleantech innovators in the province with early-stage funding, received 200 applications following its first call for innovation this year. And it’s chosen nine companies to invest a total of $7.6 million into. 

“These projects are essential for British Columbia’s goals of building a clean economy and healthier environment with good-paying jobs for people and more economic opportunities for communities,” Josie Osborne, minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, said in a release. 

Since 2021, CICE has invested $31 million into 47 cleantech projects in the province. The recipients of the nonprofit’s latest funding opportunity span four categories—details below. 

Battery and Energy Storage 

• Brokkr Mineral Resources Corporation, for developing a cleaner way to extract and use battery-grade nickel and cobalt 

• Fuse Power Management Ltd., for creating a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system that optimizes efficiency and reduces emissions 

• Telescope Innovations Corp., for using its innovative ReCRFT method to convert crude lithium chloride into high-quality lithium carbonate for batteries 

Carbon Management 

• Arca Climate Technologies Inc., for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere safely and effectively and converting it into rocks 

Low Carbon Bio and Synthetic Fuels 

• Hydron Energy Inc., for commercializing a solution that converts raw gases into clean refined fuel. CICE’s funding will deploy Hydron’s technology at the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Prince George 

• Salish Environmental Group, for is developing a technology that uses construction, demolition, and forestry wood waste to produce energy to power greenhouses and support food security 

Low Carbon Hydrogen 

• pH7 Technologies, for creating and commercializing a copper extraction method that’s both eco-friendly and efficient 

• HPDI Technology—a new venture between Westport Fuel Systems and Volvo Group—for helping to grow the number of hydrogen-HPDI equipped heavy duty trucks 

“CICE is proud to support the growth of these exceptional companies by validating actionable decarbonization pathways, unlocking access to capital, and accelerating the development and adoption of essential net-zero technologies,” CICE president and CEO Sarah Goodman added in the release. 

At the moment, other CICE funding opportunities—including the $3 million wildfire tech call and $10 million July 2024 call—remain open. Applications will close in August.