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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/813780
COURTESY OF CORVUS ENERGY (FERRY); COURTESY OF SUNPUMP SOLAR 48 BCBUSINESS MAY 2017 have a fleet of 90 trucks converted to hybrid hydrogen-diesel and the plant built," Pickup says. "The hype around hydrogen has been huge, but we don't want to be a hype play." Sea Change With its lithium battery systems, Corvus Energy has established itself as a leader in energy storage for the marine industry I n business, like life, timing can be everything. Late last decade, Corvus Energy co-founder Brent Perry and his part- ners were designing quiet-running electrical hybrid systems for the luxury yacht market. At the time, lithium battery man- ufacturers didn't make anything larger than what was needed to power a car, and the global shipping industry was just starting to delve into fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems. This opportunity prompted a game-changing pivot for the startup. "Three factors came into play," says president and CEO Andrew Morden, who captained Richmond-based Corvus's com- mercialization and is stickhandling an ongoing lawsuit against the company's founders, who have since left to start a rival firm. "Our value proposition strengthened, lithium technology had advanced, and there became available incentives and subsidies in regions like Scandinavia to adopt propulsion technology to lower emissions in the marine industry." First deployed on tugboats to reduce emissions while idling, Corvus's lithium-ion battery packs are now found in 50 projects worldwide, including ships, offshore drilling platforms and port operations. In 2011, the company used a $580,000 Sustainable Development Technology Canada grant to attract private invest- ment and do a demonstration project in the key Norwegian market. Revenue grew from less than $150,000 that year to $6 million in 2015. Corvus, which has 50 staff and made this year's Global Cleantech 100 list, recently completed its sixth ferry pro- pulsion project for the northern European transportation firm Scandlines. In Norway, progressive poli- cies like the NOX tax—a levy on nitrous oxide emissions that is returned to firms doing upgrades that will lead to reduc- tions—have translated into steady busi- ness, prompting the company to open an office there in 2015. Corvus's technol- ogy now helps propel two fully electric Norwegian passenger and vehicle ferries. By comparison, Canada has been a slow adopter, but it's coming around. Corvus recently installed battery packs for two Seaspan ULC cargo ferries sail- ing between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and the company is in talks with British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. "We're seeing the first groundswell in North America, but the world's ship- ping fleet is definitely heading toward hybridization," Morden says. Sunny Ways SunPump Solar applies NASA- inspired thermal technology to the North American housing market B ruce Gray took his first stab at the residential solar panel busi- ness back in 2010, but he quickly learned that such systems suffer from a well-deserved reputation for being unreliable energy generators. "Sales were slow, so we surveyed our customers," says the founder and chief technology officer of SunPump Solar Inc. from his Qualicum Beach office. Their wish—more reliability at a lower price—wasn't exactly music to a struggling entrepreneur's ears. So Gray turned to Google's open-source think tank platform, Solve for X, and an old project from the National Aeronautics MAKING WAVES Corvus Energy develops lithium-ion batteries for ships