Meet the Round 4 BC Fast Awardees

3 min read
January 18, 2023

The BC Fast Pilot program helps regional small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) design, build, and operate a pilot plant or small demonstration of their technology in real-world conditions. The program allows B.C. technology companies to demonstrate the impact of their product, measure the value of their solution, and encourage customer adoption. 

Since the program started in 2019, and including this most recent group of awardees, $7.9M has been invested into 62 B.C. pilot demonstrations.

This initiative is delivered in partnership between Innovate BC and NRC IRAP

Meet the latest round BC Fast 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

 

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