B.C. launches third round of Building Innovation Fund

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The funding is part of the CleanBC Roadmap to 2030, a plan to reach the province’s climate goals while also supporting the economy.

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“This innovation fund is game changing ,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.

“It helps create good paying jobs here in British Columbia, it supports innovation, and of course, it addresses a major issue that we need to address, which is climate change.”

The third round of CBBIF will provide funding through five streams:

• Material, Component and System Manufacturing
  • Supports investment in manufacturing facilities to diversify and expand existing product lines or commercialize new low-carbon product lines.
  • $500,000 to $1,000,000 per project.
• Digital Technology Solutions
  • Supports low-carbon technology development for new or improved digital solutions.
  • $500,000 to $1,000,000 per project.
• Demonstration Projects
  • Funding to help offset the incremental capital or operational costs of low-carbon demonstration projects relative to industry standards. Must involve the construction or renovation of a building and the demonstration of innovative technologies/materials within that building.
  • Includes mass-timber.
  • $500,000 to $1,000,000 per project.
• Open Call for Innovations
  • Open call for other types of low-carbon projects not covered by other funding streams, such as research projects, product development and product testing and certification..
  • $500,000 to $1,000,000 per project.
• Information Sharing and Market Transformation
  • Funding for program-wide information sharing and dissemination projects. Projects must have a broad outreach strategy to support the CBBIF’s market transformation objectives.
  • Up to $500,000 per project.

To be eligible for the funding, the project must be located in the B.C. and advance innovation in building designs, construction practices, systems, materials, products or technologies.

Ralston said industries and developers are steadily moving towards greener practices and solutions in B.C., but more can still be done.

“The next step is to reduce embodied carbon in our buildings, which refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions created through a building’s life-cycle, from material extraction through manufacturing, transportation, construction, maintenance, and end of life disposal or reuse.”

Applications for CBBIF can be found here.

This is the third round of funding under the CBBIF. The first round saw $1.65-million support 13 projects around the province in 2019, while the second round saw $8-million allocated to 21 projects in 2020.

“That $8-million in the province leveraged an additional $205-million in private sector investments,” said Ralston.

“Further, the 21 successful projects are expected to create 292 direct jobs and 2,858 indirect jobs.”

Ralston added that he expects strong interest from industries in this round of CBBIF, creating more jobs for British Columbians and developing more made-in-B.C. green, energy-efficient technologies and solutions.