The Ocean Supercluster has a new partnership

What does it mean for Vancouver Island oceantech?

Author

James Matthews
November 27, 2022

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Digest. In this issue, we’re contextualizing a new oceantech partnership, looking forward to a Victoria-based innovator’s pitch, and living vicariously through another’s trip to Japan.

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What does a new Canada's Ocean Supercluster partnership mean for Island innovators?

Headshot of Dallas, COAST's COO

COAST COO Dallas Gislason

On Thursday, news broke of a partnership between Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) and Marine Renewables Canada (MRC). The pair announced a new, collaborative partnership to share knowledge and support the advancement of marine renewable energy in Canada. This agreement, signed Wednesday in Halifax, will formalize the partners’ collaboration — particularly in the areas of offshore wind, wave, and tidal energy.

I was curious about what it meant for Island-based innovators. Halifax is a long way geographically from Victoria but similar industrially. So, I phoned — err, emailed — a friend to find out. Dallas Gislason is the COO of the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST). The organization is a burgeoning innovation hub that seeks to empower innovators in the space. COAST even has a shiny new accelerator to show for its efforts.

“Here in Pacific Canada, we've worked closely with Canada's Ocean Supercluster to help them connect with Western Canada's strengths, from cutting-edge research to our world-class companies that are already helping to solve many of the world's toughest ocean and marine-sector challenges,” Gislason told Victoria Tech Journal. “We are excited about the collaborative partnership with ONC and Marine Renewables Canada to accelerate solutions in areas of offshore wind, wave, and tidal energy.”

Gislason also reminded us that B.C. has many world-class projects and companies across these sectors. These include the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems, founded in 1989 to chart feasible pathways to sustainable energy systems through the development of new technologies, processes, and systems; the West Coast Wave Initiative, a multidisciplinary collaboration between industry and researchers working to quantitatively determine the feasibility, impacts, and possible structure of wave energy conversion in western Canada; and outfits like AXYS Technologies, which has worked over the last 50 years in offshore wind to help provide data across all phases of deployment and construction of wind farms.

“COAST will continue to work with OSC to align western Canada's companies, key organizations, and researchers into their programs," Gislason said, "including this latest collaboration with Marine Renewables Canada.” It looks like Island innovators are in safe waters.

📰 More Victoria innovation news

📝 Signed, sealed, delivered, modernized: To keep pace with technology and improve how services are delivered to British Columbians, BC Registries and Online Services has modernized the digital experience for starting a business in B.C. Read the full release. 

👩‍🔬 One to watch: Tune into VoxCell BioInnovation founder Dr. Karolina Valente's pitch this week. Valente is one of a quintet of finalists in Spring Activator's Women-led Impact Investor Challenge. The finale kicks off at 3:00 p.m. on November 29. Learn more and register.

🇯🇵 Big in Japan: Origen Air founder Susan Blanchet is representing Victoria as part of the Canadian Women-only Business Mission to Japan. In a Vancouver Tech Journal profile, Blanchet detailed a road trip to California with her company's hardware. If it tags along this time around, I hope the baggage handlers treat the device well. Learn more about her trip.

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