Clean Energy/Fuel Cell

Fueling Innovation – Find your clean, renewable future in British Columbia, Canada

Industry Snapshot

With its progressive programs and initiatives, British Columbia is at the forefront of environmental and economic leadership. Our economy is powered by clean energy technologies that generate green jobs, create sustainable businesses and stimulate low-carbon investments.

• The renewable energy sector is the largest contributor to British Columbia’s green economy at nearly $5 billion in GDP and accounted for more than 21,000 direct, full-time jobs in 2008.
• With a significant level of clean electrical energy supplied by hydropower, our biggest opportunities for reducing GHG emissions are in areas related to transportation, energy and building industries.
• Bioenergy, geothermal energy, tidal, run-of-river, solar and wind power are all potential energy sources in our clean, renewable future.
• Since the late 1980s, the private sector has developed 63 independent power projects in B.C. that account for approximately 14 per cent of British Columbia’s domestic electricity requirements.
• We have immense renewable resource potential with $100 billion in investment opportunities, $15 billion in investment-ready projects and 37,000MW of renewable power ready to be tapped.

British Columbia is a recognized world centre for developing and using hydrogen and fuel cells as a clean energy solution. Hydrogen and fuel cell products are being tested and used commercially in materials handling, backup power, portable electronics, fuelling infrastructure and transit bus applications.

• Over the last 30 years, the Vancouver area has become a regional cluster for the design, development and manufacturing of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
• Investments in the province represent 75 per cent of Canadian fuel cell and hydrogen-based research and development expenditures.
• Industry has invested over $100 million a year over the last seven years on hydrogen research, development and demonstration.
• Upwards of 35 organizations, employing 1,200 people are involved in the design and manufacturing of fuel cells – companies include Ballard Power Systems, Angstrom Power and Sacre-Davey.

Competitive Advantages

The clean technology industry is a driving factor in the economic growth of British Columbia.

• Clean or renewable electricity generation accounts for at least 90 per cent of total generation, placing the British Columbia’s standard among the top jurisdictions in the world.
• Vancouver is currently home to 25 percent of all clean tech companies in Canada.
• Clean, renewable producers could attract $26 billion in investment over the next decade.
• Success in the fuel cell sub-sector can be attributed to strong partnerships between industry, governments and academia.
• Dozens of fuel cell companies and research organizations are located in B.C. including the National Research Council Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-IFCI), the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation and the University of British Columbia’s Clean Energy Research Centre.
• Around 70 per cent of the Canada’s fuel cell sector is centred in Metro Vancouver.
• The B.C. and Canadian governments are partnering to invest $89 million for hydrogen fuel cell fuelling stations and the world’s first fleet of 20 fuel cell buses.

British Columbia’s leading-edge bioenergy sector and its abundance of forestry and other biomass allow it to meet the growing global demand for clean and renewable energy and related products. British Columbia is home to the annual Hydrogen + Fuel Cells conference, a leading international event for the hydrogen and fuel cell industry.

Incentives

Research & Development

The Governments of British Columbia and Canada offer a variety of incentives for research and development that support new clean technologies.

• The Vancouver-based (NRC-IFCI) works with universities, government agencies and companies on projects focused on the research, development, demonstration and testing of hydrogen and fuel cell systems.
• The Eco Energy for Renewable Power Program encourages investment in energy conservation and renewable energy projects, with a total commitment of $1.48 billion.
• Sustainable Development Technology Canada is a not-for-profit foundation with an investment fund of $550 million that finances and supports the development of clean technologies.
• The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program is a federal tax incentive designed to encourage research and development in Canada. Qualifying non-Canadian companies are eligible to receive tax credits of 20 per cent of qualified expenditures. Canadian companies receive enhanced credits. The B.C. government adds a ten per cent tax credit for qualifying Canadian and non-Canadian corporations that conduct R&D in British Columbia.
• The National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) has contributed in excess of $570 million to more than 30,000 projects. The program provides a range of technical and business-oriented advisory services to support growth-oriented Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises.

Venture Capital

British Columbia offers tax credits of 30 per cent to qualified resident investors who provide venture capital to small businesses conducting R&D on proprietary technologies.

• Investment must be made through a venture capital corporation or directly to an eligible business corporation.
• Early-stage ventures are also eligible for support from the B.C. government’s $90 million B.C. Renaissance Capital Fund.

Other

British Columbia’s International Financial Activity Act (IFAA) allows incorporated Canadian companies with permanent establishments in B.C. to recoup up to 100 per cent of provincial corporate income taxes on international income from patents related to wind, solar and tidal power generation.

• British Columbia provides a number of other targeted incentives for alternative energy production, including partial abatement of property taxes, exemptions from sales tax and accelerated depreciation allowances for tax purposes.
• There is also a Government of Canada incentive for wind power production.