MAY 2017 BCBUSINESS 45
A closer look at six startups
and ventures on the leading
edge of alternative energy
N
ew oil and gas pipelines are winning approval in B.C. and
across the country, but the world is also shifting in new
directions. Global investment in green energy hit a record
of almost US$286 billion last year, according to the United
Nations Environment Programme, up five per cent from
2015. A recent survey by the BC Cleantech
CEO Alliance iden-
tified more than 275 cleantech companies in the province,
many of them in energy, including darlings like Nexterra
Systems Corp. (with five waste-to-energy projects in North America and
two in development in the U.K.) and hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Ballard
Power Systems Inc., plus a host of lesser-known players. As renewables
gain traction, B.C. entrepreneurs are stepping up to help reshape the way
we produce, store and consume power.
clean
break
by A N D R E W F I N D L AY p o r t r a it by P O OYA N A B E I
