British Columbia Innovation Council

BC's clean tech sector includes businesses creating products, services and processes that address global ecological challenges, while offering competitive returns to investors and customers. These companies are at the heart of BC's green economy - an industry that is responsible for $6.1 billion in direct provincial GDP in 2008, accounting for 7.2% and 166,000 direct and indirect full-time equivalent jobs.

BC's clean tech sector is made up of a number of subsectors including:

• Alternative energy
• Energy infrastructure
• Energy conservation and efficiency
• Green buildings and design
• Transportation
• Waste and water management

Industry Snapshot

• In 2009, there were 38 green technology companies from BC listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the TSX Venture Exchange, with a combined market capitalization worth $1,128 million.
• Over the last 30 years, the BC Lower Mainland has become a regional cluster for the design, development and manufacturing of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies with investments in the province representing 75% of Canadian fuel cell and hydrogen-based research and development expenditures.
• Startup companies in the clean tech sector emerged as winners in innovative competitions in BC: Lignol, Nexterra, and Paradigm Environmental Technologies Inc. are all ICE Fund Winners and Saltworks was the First Place Winner of the NVBC 2008 competition.
  

Clean Tech Organizations

• Anaerobic Digestion Initiative Advisory Committee of BC (ADIAC)
  
• BC Bioenergy Network
  
• BC Sustainable Energy Association
  
• British Columbia Technology Industry Association
  
• Canadian Association for Renewable Energies
  
• Canadian Bioenergy Association
  
• Canadian Geothermal Energy Association
  
• Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association
  
• Canadian Solar Industries Association
  
• CanmetEnergy
  
• Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization
  
• Fuel Cells Canada
  
• Independent Power Producers Association of British Columbia (IPPBC)
  
• LifeSciences British Columbia
  
• Northwest Power and Conservation Council
  
• NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation
  
• Ocean Renewable Energy Group
  
• Pacific Energy Innovation Association
  
• SolarBC
  
• Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association
  
• World Energy Council
  

Post-Secondary Programs

• BCIT 
  • Bachelor of Technology in Ecological Restoration
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Sustainable Energy Manager Associate Certificate (SEMAC)
  • Sustainable Resource Management (SRM)
• Camosun College: Environmental Technology
• Langara College: Environmental Studies
• Northern Lights College: Solar Hot Water Course, Energy House development and course cluster (under development)
• Royal Roads University: Offers 10 Environmental Sustainability programs: 3-Certificate, 4-Masters, 2-Bachelor, and 1-Diploma
• Selkirk College: 
  • Integrated Environmental Planning Technology Program
  • Renewable Energy Certificate Program
• SFU:
  • Department of Chemistry
  • Sustainable Community Development Certificate Program
  • School of Resource & Environmental Management
    
• UBC:
  • Department of Forestry
  • Master of Engineering in Clean Energy
  • Resource Management and Environmental Studies (RMES) *Offered through IRES
  • School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP)
  • Social, Ecological, Economic Development Studies (SEEDS)
    
• UNBC: Natural Resource and Environmental Studies (NRES)
• University of Victoria: 
  • School of Earth & Ocean Science
  • Sustainable Energy Systems Design
• Vancouver Island University:
  
  • Green Building & Renewable Energy Technician (GBRET)
    
  • Renewable Energy Technology Certificate

Research Facilities

• BCIT
  • Centre for Architectural Ecology
  • Centre for Energy Systems Applications
  • Photovoltaic Applied Research Lab

• FP Innovations
  • Canadian Wood Fiber Centre (CWFC), FERIC, PAPRICAN
• Hydrogenics Corporation: Hydrogen Testing Systems
• Kwantlen: Bio-control Product Development Lab
• Northern Lights College: Centre for Clean Energy Technologies
• NRC Canada: Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-OFCI)
• Okanagan College: Centre for Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies
• Powertech Labs: 21 Advanced Performance Testing Laboratories
• SFU:
  
  • 4D Labs
    
  • Canadian Industrial Energy End-Use Data and Analysis Centre
    
  • Centre for Sustainable Community Development
• UBC
  • Clean Energy Research Centre
  • Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability
    
  • Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (SAWP)
  • Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability (IRES)
  • UBC Electric Power and Energy Systems Group
• University of the Fraser Valley: Centre for Environmental Sustainability
• UNBC: Northern Forest Products and Bioenergy Innovation Centre
• UVIC: Institute for Integrated Energy Systems

Douglas College: Building Sustainability & Energy Management
Emily Carr: Course in education for sustainability and green design
Kwantlen: Horticulture research & development programs

Research Facilities