To support New Brunswick’s transition to a green economy, Opportunities NB (ONB), in partnership with the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) launched the Climate Impact Fund to accelerate innovation and commercialization of cleantech and emissions reduction technology in New Brunswick. Since 2021, this strategic initiative has contributed to the province’s economic growth and competitiveness by supporting its small and medium-sized enterprises as they create solutions for a low-carbon economy.
“Companies across the globe are moving to greener sources of energy, greener technologies, and greener industrial processes,” notes Paul Thornton, Innovation Partners Manager at NBIF. “This transition represents an immense opportunity for New Brunswick businesses to become enablers in this urgent worldwide shift to a low-carbon economy. Now is the time for companies to invest in creating solutions that can serve these emerging markets. Through the Climate Impact Fund, we’re helping New Brunswick companies derisk the development of solutions with global impact.”
The Corporate Cleantech Innovation Fund
NBIF’s Corporate Cleantech Innovation Fund is one of the signature elements of the Climate Impact Fund. It allows New Brunswick firms to access financing for the development and implementation of innovative cleantech-related projects. Companies applying for this grant must demonstrate that their project is innovative and will reduce emissions or have tangible environmental benefits. “Does the technology fall under the federal definition of cleantech? Does it offer a well-defined sustainability advantage? Can the company articulate a business case for the technology that will drive adoption? That’s what we’re looking at,” notes Thornton.
Success Stories
Of the Climate Impact Fund’s many programs, Thornton says the Corporate Cleantech Innovation Fund has offered the most benefit to New Brunswick businesses thus far. “What’s exciting is that many of the most interesting projects have that export potential that ONB and the province are looking for,” he says.
One of those projects is from Fredericton’s C-Therm Technologies, the global leader in non-destructive thermal conductivity testing. C-Therm has entered the electric vehicle (EV) market, where it is helping to solve the issue of transferring heat away from EV battery packs. This is critical for both safety and product performance. “C-Therm has seen an opportunity to go into this market and help EV manufacturers better understand how they dispense adhesive in the battery packs in a way that helps maintain good battery performance. It’s a great initiative with obvious export potential.”
SHIFT Energy in Saint John, meanwhile, is leveraging the Climate Impact Fund to tackle sustainability challenges surrounding chiller plants (centralized cooling systems). From a 2024 post, SHIFT notes: “Chiller plants are commonly used to cool industrial processes such as pharmaceutical and automotive manufacturing and data centres, and support air conditioning in large buildings such as hospitals, venues and office towers: a single chiller plant can consume as much electricity as several thousand homes, and, according to the United States Department of Energy, these energy hogs typically account for about 20 per cent to 40 per cent of total electricity use in commercial buildings.”
Thornton says SHIFT has created proprietary machine learning and predictive control technologies that improve the efficiency and reliability of these plants, reducing energy use by 20-30% and reducing downtime in these mission critical plants. He says SHIFT is validating the latest enhancements to its solution in several chiller plants across North America. “They’re expanding their reach through strategic partners like Blackstone Energy Services and Ainsworth. What’s interesting to me is seeing them move into areas where chiller plants are integral to a manufacturing process – biotech and pharmaceuticals, for example.”
Learn more about SHIFT Energy here.
Looking Ahead
Thornton says the key to meeting sustainability targets may lie in helping more companies leverage the great work they are already doing in other fields. “I highlighted C-Therm as it’s a good example of a firm with deep technical expertise that has turned its eye towards a new sector, in this case EVs. Can we find more companies that do something well and help them tap into new markets to apply their expertise or manufacturing processes towards green solutions and sustainability? That’s the real opportunity,” he says.
He says New Brunswick is well-positioned to lead in sustainability and export green solutions to jurisdictions like the EU. “We have strong potential across multiple industries, a strong background in technology development, and a skilled workforce – these things can help us meet our net-zero targets, but can also help us develop cleantech solutions for the world. Companies should reach out to NBIF, ONB, ACOA, and other groups for information on how to get started and learn how we can help. Any clean tech solution with a solid business case can thrive in New Brunswick.”
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Learn more at https://nbif.ca/innovation-overview/
If you are a New Brunswick-based business beginning or looking to improve your own sustainability journey, connect with ONB at any time. Our team is ready to help.
