Today Foresight Canada announced the launch of the BC Net Zero Innovation Network (BCNZIN), an initiative that will accelerate the development and adoption of critical climate solutions from across the province and establish BC as a global leader in cleantech innovation.
The opportunity and the need for BCNZIN was shaped by Foresight’s work back in 2019, when they worked alongside the Province of British Columbia on a six-month Cleantech Cluster Initiative, the CORE Cleantech Cluster program, to accelerate the pace of cleantech development, commercialization, and adoption across the province.
Through delivery of this program, Foresight established a key call to action: engage all stakeholders and rights holders throughout BC to form a stronger clean technology innovation ecosystem that accelerates the pace of innovation, fast-tracks new ideas to market, and scales the cleantech sector as a whole.
Building on this strategy, along with government climate initiatives and lessons learned from Foresight’s cleantech ventures and industry partners, the BCNZIN aims to create a powerful and collaborative provincial cleantech community and catalyze cleantech innovation across the province.
The support from the Government of Canada through PacifiCan and the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation enables Foresight to work alongside industry partners to help them meet their carbon reduction and other environmental goals, while also working with cleantech innovators to accelerate the pace of market adoption, and move towards urgent net zero targets.
BCNZIN will operate through a distributed hub and node model, launching four sectoral or regional hubs with an aim to strategically address federal, provincial, local, and industry-led goals. Initial clusters in mining, water, and bioeconomy are underway, with a fourth sector to be determined through conversations with partners over the coming months. .
Each hub will have its own tailored programming and projects focused on the unique opportunities within that sector or region. The overarching network will connect all the hubs together to create cross-cluster learning, resource sharing, and business development opportunities.
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