A new marine and coastal testbed is meant to find new ways to solve industry challenges with made-in-B.C. technology.
Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon announced the new testbed, the seventh in the province’s Integrated Marketplace program, in Vancouver Friday (March 27).
“Testbeds are a collaboration that bring together B.C. companies who offer solutions and B.C. companies who need the solutions to collaborate in real-world settings, refine solutions so they fit the purpose but also have a broader market implications.”
Kahlon added the testbed is focused on technology that strengthens environment monitoring, vessel optimization and coastal resilience. It’s also part of B.C.’s Look West strategy.
It will focus on technologies related to: power supply, offshore and renewable energy; naval defence; marine robotics, mobile assets and electrification; marine vessel optimization; ocean-observing systems and connectivity; coastal-resilience tools and solutions; supply-chain and goods movement.
A news release adds that the testbed will provide space for applying new technologies to real-work marine challenges such as cleaning vessels, Indigenous-led monitoring and delivering smarter shore power.
Some could be considered dual-use technologies, meaning they could be used for both commercial and defence purposes.
The release adds that this will be key to B.C. securing its fair share of federal defence funding, which falls under the Looks West strategy of securing 35 per cent of federal defence vessel contracts over 10 years.
Three projects supported through the testbed have already been announced:
• Metchosin-based KOTUG Canada, which provides oil-tanker escort and oil-spill response services using vessels berthed in Beecher Bay. The SC’IȺNEW First Nation will be working with Offshore Designs to deploy its underwater robotic vessel-cleaning technology. The project will received $290,000 through the Integrated Marketplace.
• Lax Kw’alaams First Nation, Ocean Aid and Salmon Vision are partnering on a project that supplements traditional Indigenous-led fishing practices with artificial intelligence to automate an Indigenous-led salmon-population monitoring practice. The project will received $360,000 through the Integrated Marketplace.
• Vancouver-based VoltSafe will deploy a smart shore-power solution at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club’s Jericho marina. It will test the technology’s performance, safety and operational benefits in a live marine environment where electrical safety and limited electrical capacity are key considerations, and if successful, it will help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions for smaller vessels and marinas. The project will received $387,000 through the Integrated Marketplace.
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