Funding will help companies pilot new technologies for renewable energy
VICTORIA —
Summary
Ascent Systems Technologies, Cleohydron Innovation, Mostar Labs and Voltai each received $100,000 to support projects that help the maritime industry transition to renewable energy
Projects are funded through Innovate BC's COAST Innovation Challenge, delivered through the Province's Integrated Marketplace platform
This work supports the Look West strategy which includes a focus on growing B.C.'s maritime sector
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As fuel prices rise and raise costs around the world, four innovative companies are getting support to develop and demonstrate new ways to help coastal communities transition to renewable, more affordable energy, as part of B.C.'s Look West strategy.
Through the COAST Innovation Challenge, delivered through the Province's Integrated Marketplace platform, Ascent Systems Technologies, Cleohydron Innovation, Mostar Labs and Voltai are each receiving $100,000 to test how their technologies can support a clean-energy future. COAST stands for Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies.
"The conflict in the Middle East continues to drive up fuel prices and everyday costs for everyone, and it's never been more important to help our coastal communities transition to cleaner energy," said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth. "Through this challenge, we're tapping into B.C.'s innovation and technology sector and cutting-edge solutions developed right here at home. Guided by Look West, we are creating new opportunities for local businesses, while building a cleaner economy that can stand on its own two feet."
The challenge
The COAST Innovation Challenge is a partnership between Innovate BC and COAST. COAST aims to build B.C. into a global leader in ocean-economy innovation by paving the way for new sustainable and export-driven jobs and enterprises.
The challenge is a call to businesses to bring forward new ideas that can help the Canadian Coast Guard electrify their operations in remote coastal areas, with as much as $100,000 available to support their work. This challenge leverages the Integrated Marketplace platform and the recently announced marine and coastal testbed while successful applicants test their technologies at the B.C. Marine Energy and Decarbonization Hub, a partnership between COAST and the University of Victoria.
The challenge seeks technology solutions that:
generate energy from renewable sources (e.g. wave, tidal, off- and on-shore wind, solar)
manage energy and storage to increase capacity and resilience
rapidly deploy modular and scalable systems
"One of the reasons COAST exists is to help entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into real solutions, and these Innovation Challenge companies are doing exactly that,"said Jason Goldsworthy, executive director, COAST. "They are developing practical, integrated clean-energy systems for demanding marine environments, strengthening Canadian capabilities and supply chains while creating expertise and jobs that will benefit British Columbians and Canadians for years to come."
Demonstrating new technologies for remote fuelling, cleaner fuel and power
Vancouver-based Ascent Systems Technologies received $100,000 to demonstrate its Autonomous Environment Monitoring and Surveillance (AEMS) platform. The AEMS combines renewable energy, battery storage, smart-power controls and communications in a self-contained automatically deployable module that can operate continuously and autonomously, without fuel resupply or need for on-site personnel.
Surrey-based Cleohydron Innovation received $100,000 to turn its hydrogen-production technology from a lab model into a ready-to-use system that can work in real coastal conditions. This work will help reduce technical risks and support clean energy for remote coastal sites.
Victoria-based Mostar Labs received $100,000 to test the LilyPad, a modular floating renewable-energy platform. The goal is to show how it can replace diesel, powering remote, coastal operations.
Nova Scotia-based Voltai received $100,000 to test the WaveNexus modular waveenergy system in a near-shore environment to show how wave power can cut diesel use at remote coastal sites and to provide data for future deployments, while setting up operations in B.C.
Part of the Look West strategy
This work supports the Province's Look West strategy for jobs and industry, which outlines B.C.'s vision to deliver jobs and opportunities by strengthening the workforce to develop a more independent economy. The strategy includes delivering major projects quicker, diversifying markets and growing targeted sectors, such as technology, aerospace, marine, AI and quantum, life sciences, agriculture-construction innovation, mining and critical minerals.
Quick Fact:
B.C.'s investment in the Integrated Marketplace includes as much as $41.5 million from the Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth and $11.7 million from the Government of Canada through PacifiCan.
Learn More:
Learn more about Ascent Systems Technologies: https://ascentsystems.ca/
Learn more about Cleohydron Innovation: https://www.cleohydron.com/
Learn more about Mostar Labs: https://mostarlabs.com/
Learn more about Voltai: https://www.voltai.ca/
Read about the previous announcement: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025JEG0055-001171
To learn more about the COAST Innovation Challenge, visit: https://www.innovatebc.ca/coast-innovation-challenge
To learn more about Look West: Jobs and Prosperity for a Stronger B.C. and Canada, visit: https://gov.bc.ca/LookWest
To learn more about the Integrated Marketplace, visit: https://www.innovatebc.ca/programs/integrated-marketplace
For more about Innovate BC, visit: https://www.innovatebc.ca/
For more about COAST, visit: https://canadacoast.ca/
For more about the Canadian Coast Guard, visit: https://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/indexeng
Backgrounder
What people are saying about funding for coastal green-energy innovation
Darlene Rotchford, parliamentary secretary for armed forces development and veterans affairs —
"B.C.'s coastal and Indigenous communities face unique challenges when it comes to energy costs and reliability, especially in remote marine environments. By supporting businesses to pilot clean, renewable marine technologies, we're helping reduce reliance on diesel, strengthen coastal resilience and create good, sustainable jobs while positioning B.C. as a leader in the global blue economy."
Derek Moss, assistant commissioner, western region, Canadian Coast Guard —
"The Canadian Coast Guard is committed to reducing our environmental impact and finding renewable-energy solutions. We are pleased to partner on this Innovation Challenge and look forward to testing and validating potential solutions against real operational challenges here on the West Coast."
Peter Cowan, president and CEO, Innovate BC —
"The strength of B.C.'s maritime sector creates real opportunity for innovation, but getting new technologies into the field isn't always straightforward. Innovate BC's partnership with COAST through the new Integrated Marketplace Marine and Coastal Testbed is helping create pathways for companies to test and deploy their solutions against challenges like diesel dependence along B.C.'s coast. This is Look West in action — accelerating adoption, supporting the transition to clean energy and strengthening a sector that is foundational to our economy."
Curran Crawford, executive director, Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET)
"The B.C. Marine Energy and Decarbonization Hub is advancing a new generation of oceanbased clean-energy solutions in British Columbia. By giving technology developers access to shared infrastructure, research expertise and clear pathways to real-world applications, we are strengthening our ocean economy, reducing reliance on diesel and accelerating world-class clean, marine energy innovation while supporting coastal communities and creating dynamic new economic opportunities."
Volodimir Grebenyuk, CEO, Ascent Systems Technologies —
"We designed our autonomous platform to operate in the harshest Canadian conditions and have already tested it in remote geographies. The COAST challenge allows us to demonstrate its robustness and resilience in maritime coastal environments, supporting the Canadian Coast Guard with critical services while reducing reliance on fuel logistics and lowering carbon footprint. Programs like this are essential for turning innovation into operational capability."
Erigene Bakangura, CEO, founder, Cleohydron Innovation —
"At Cleohydron, our mission is to displace diesel in remote operations and communities by enabling clean, reliable power through hydrogen-integrated energy systems. These systems are designed to overcome the inherent variability of renewable energy by combining short- and long-duration storage into a practical, deployable solution. We entered the COAST Innovation Challenge because the real barrier is not the availability of clean technologies, but how they perform in real-world conditions."
Meiz Majdoub Jr., CEO, Mostar Labs —
"Mostar Labs is proud to participate in the COAST Innovation Challenge as we advance LilyPad, our modular marine-energy infrastructure platform designed to support cleaner, more resilient operations on the water and in remote coastal settings. We entered the challenge to validate real-world integration of renewables, storage and energy management, and to learn directly from the Canadian Coast Guard's operational constraints. Challenges like this strengthen B.C.'s innovation ecosystem by reducing barriers to testing and accelerating deployment."
Maja Maher, CEO and co-founder, Voltai —
"We see Voltai WaveNexus as part of a new generation of energy systems built specifically for coastal environments. This challenge gives us a chance to test the technology in real conditions and understand what it actually takes to deploy and operate it. Programs like this are important because they help move things out of the lab and into practical use."
Contact:
Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth
Media Relations
250-883-2068