Features Environment & Sustainability Forestry
FPInnovations invites proposals on remote sensing

Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre and FPInnovations are launching the first-ever “ARCTIC Challenge” for the forest sector, to elicit proposals from cleantech innovators on solutions to current challenges. The ARCTIC Challenge focuses on remote sensing solutions for conducting forest inventories.

Remote sensing is expected to reduce costs by up to 75 per cent, lower carbon emissions associated with traditional surveying, and provide more precise data than currently possible thereby enabling more efficient operational and environmental planning before harvesting. Research has indicated that savings of up to $100 million/year could be realized just in the B.C. forest sector.

Foresight’s Advanced Resource Clean Technology Innovation Centre (ARCTIC ) program catalyzes and accelerates innovation in the resource sector, and with support from the industry partner (in this case, FPInnovations), government and the SMEs that participate in the challenge. Potential solution providers will be invited to respond to the ARCTIC challenge, after which a panel of experts will identify two to five finalists for a development program. Six months later, the expert panel will then select one finalist for the field testing phase.

“As stated in the Canadian Council of Forest Minister’s Innovation Action Plan, collaborating, engaging and mobilizing are key elements to advancing forest sector innovation in Canada and supporting long-term environmental sustainability” said Pierre Lapointe, president and CEO of FPInnovations. “The ARCTIC challenge and our partnership with Foresight allow us to engage and mobilize a broader network of ideas and innovators, and we expect that the state-of-the-art solutions generated by the program will be invaluable to the forest sector and have applications in other sectors.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with FPInnovations to marry cleantech solutions with real industry challenges,” said Neil Huff, managing director of Foresight. “This is a unique opportunity for innovators to receive funding and be mentored by an elite group of executives and leaders while fast tracking the development of their products.”

The ARCTIC Challenge is made possible through the financial support of Western Economic Diversification Canada, Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), and industry partner FPInnovations. Tessellate Inc. and The Delphi Group serve as consulting partners.

FPInnovations is a not-for-profit organization that specializes in the creation of scientific solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector.

Foresight Clean Technology Accelerator Centre is a BC-based not-for-profit that provides early-stage cleantech innovators with the guidance, training, and funding they need to accelerate their growth and product commercialization activities.