Released from Cision on June 27,2023
Up to $6 million in non-dilutive funding to be awarded for innovation that increases resilience in British Columbia’s forests
VANCOUVER, BC, June 27, 2023 – The BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) and FortisBC, through its Clean Growth Innovation Fund (CGIF), are pleased to announce a call for innovation focused on Forestry Residue Management. Innovators are invited to submit proposals that outline clear commercial pathways to increase resilience in British Columbia’s forests by strengthening supply chains, diversifying utilization opportunities, and managing carbon.
Expression of Interest Applications will be accepted from June 26 – August 18, 2023.
“Forestry residue management is a long-standing challenge in British Columbia. Broad consultations across communities, public, and private sectors have confirmed the need to accelerate the commercialization of innovative solutions focused on the collection, transport, and processing of forestry residues – especially in BC’s remote and rural locations. Non-dilutive funding from CICE and the CGIF will help companies advance high impact solutions and unlock the untapped potential that lies within our forests.”
Dr. Ged McLean, Executive Director at CICE
Through this call for innovation, CICE and the CGIF will award up to six million dollars in non-dilutive funding available to BC-based innovators with high impact proposals in the following areas:
- Commercially viable pathways for collection, transportation, and management of forestry residue, including opportunities for slash and thinning by-products to reduce wildfire risks
- Diversification of utilization solutions to derive energy value from forestry residue, such as biogases, advanced biofuels, and other scalable end-use products
- Proposals that align forest management with carbon-based innovations, such as nature-based solutions, bioenergy with carbon capture utilization and storage (BECCUS), and other potentially negative-emission technologies
Historically, approximately 4,600,000 green metric tonnes of BC’s wood fibre resources have been stacked into slash piles and burned on site annually, increasing emissions and eliminating other utilization options. Wildfire risk and associated emissions are rising due to a changing climate, with 150-200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted from BC wildfires during the significant fire years of 2017, 2018 and 2021. In addition to direct emissions, wildfires kill trees that will decay over time releasing carbon at similar scales to the direct emissions from the fires. With a need to actively manage forests for wildfire prevention, thinning will increase the amount of residue in BC’s forests.
“Improving management of forestry residues in B.C. will take innovation and a team effort. Combining the talent pool of entrepreneurs, with expertise and grant funding from FortisBC and CICE, will lead to innovative solutions to our pressing climate action challenges. We encourage individuals with safe, affordable, and sustainable solutions that will help better manage forest residues to submit a proposal.”
Mark Warren, Director of Business Innovation with FortisBC
Through this call for innovation, regional approaches and commercial plans that fall between Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4-9 and demonstrate potential to be scaled across multiple sites will be prioritized. Project activities may include, but are not limited to, demonstrations and pilot projects, innovative implementation solutions, novel linkage of system components, mitigation or monitoring technologies, and business model innovations. Preference will be given to projects that empower forest management in Indigenous, rural, and remote communities in BC.
For full details on how to apply, visit the CICE website, and download the Forestry Residue Management Application Guide. For more information, you can also contact CICE and CGIF at: FRM2023@cice.ca
About the BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy
The British Columbia Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) is an independent, not-for-profit corporation that helps fund the development, commercialization and scaling of made-in-BC clean energy technologies and solutions – from Canada to the world. We unite BC innovators, leading corporations, government, academia, communities, and Indigenous rights holders around one primary focus: Advancing the world towards a net-zero carbon future. Together with our members, we expand the possibilities of clean energy innovation like the future of the planet depends on it. Because it does.