With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1406705
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 BCBUSINESS 31 you plan your trip." ChatziSpiros, whose company saw 30-percent growth in 2021, is betting on the demand for last-mile-connectivity between public transit and destina- tions as the niche where it will flourish. –P.R. C H A R G I N G B L O C K Turning buildings into big rechargeable batteries isn't as far-fetched as you might think. In fact, it's underway at UBC, through a project led by mechanical engineering professor Walter Mérida, founder of Mérida Labs. Scheduled to be fully operational by the end of next year, the Renewable Energy Hub will see a city-sized campus block become a smart energy district. The hub includes a solar array atop a parkade retrofitted with bidirectional EV charging stations. It will also house B.C.'s first refuelling station for light- and heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicles–supplied by an electrolyzer that creates 100-percent renewable hydrogen from water and surplus electricity. As people charge their cars in the solar parkade, 5 to 10 percent of the total battery capacity becomes available to send power back to the grid, Mérida explains. "In this way, assets that otherwise would sit there doing nothing for eight or nine hours a day all of a sudden become active participants in energy manage- ment systems at the city scale." In turn, drivers could get a lower parking rate or receive payment for the use of their battery. Mérida hopes to replicate the Renewable Energy Hub in other cities worldwide, at locations such as ports, airports, shopping centres and warehouses. –N.R. P AV I N G T H E WAY If you're ready to step into the future, Solar Earth is waiting. The Vancouver company wants to install solar panels on pavements, rooftops, walls–any flat surface, really–to power tomorrow's economy. It sees an opportunity for munici- palities to make transport infrastructure such as roads, bike paths and parking lots pay for itself instead of becoming a money pit. As CTO Michael Whitwick points out, generating solar energy (typically from farms) takes up a lot of room. By using available spaces, Solar Earth aims to turn "passive transportation infrastructure into active transportation infrastructure that also generates clean, renewable energy." That means the solar panels must be durable, so the company designed its Amber II module to absorb vehicles' weight and extreme weather as well as sunlight. Whitwick says Solar Earth is also looking into wireless charging so an EV can fuel up while driving along a road outfitted with its panels. –P.R. H A I L B . C . Not all ride-hailing companies are run by Silicon Valley bros. In fact, B.C. has several of its own. Whistle!, op- erated by Tofino-headquartered Green Coast Ventures, offers service between the Whistler area and Vancou- ver International Airport, and between its backyard and Tofino-Long Beach Airport. Vancouver-based Poparide lets users carpool to cities across Canada. Ride-hailing outfit Lucky to Go serves almost 20 B.C. urban centres from its hometown of Victoria, while Richmond rival Kabu Ride covers Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Kelowna and Kamloops. Wait, there's more: Coastal Rides focuses on the Sunshine Coast, the Comox Valley and Powell River. –N.R. O P E N S E A S O N Want to feel what it's like to have a Porsche in your garage one day and a Jaguar the next? Car-shares may be common in Vancouver, but Portfolio by OpenRoad is the new shiny elite version. The brainchild of Christian Chia, CEO of dealer OpenRoad Auto Group, Canada's first such service offers members monthly and daily car subscriptions to a 12-brand fleet. The option to pause at any time is a draw for frequent fliers and snowbirds alike. "We are currently the only vehicle subscription company in Vancouver that offers multiple brands," says manager Adam Isman. With two electric vehicles in its fleet, Portfolio is looking to add more. It also plans to move beyond Metro Vancouver as OpenRoad expands to the Toronto area. –S.Z. M O T O H E A D S With 15 years' experience in the electric two-wheeler business, Motorino joined the race early. The company, which specializes in light electric vehicles (LEVs)–bikes, scooters and motorcycles–has a wide network of manufacturers based in Asia. Early this year, Vancouver- headquartered Motorino became the sole Canadian distributor and seller of the Super Soco e-motorcycle, popular in Europe. –P.R. C I T Y S L I C K E R Love them or hate them, it's tough to ignore the new two-wheelers on the block. E-scooters have come to town, and they could be here to stay. If so, that's good Portfolio by OpenRoad offers car subscriptions A rendering of the UBC Renewable Energy Hub