BioEnergy

Bioenergy is a source of carbon neutral renewable energy. Sustainably harvested biomass is carbon neutral, because the carbon dioxide released during its gasification is recaptured from the air when the biomass resource is regrown as forests or agricultural crops. Technologies at UBC are pushing the boundaries of bioenergy research by using wood waste from the City of Vancouver, and trees killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle, as well as other residues from forestry operations, for power and heat generation. Harvesting the beetle-killed trees helps to restore the forest, enable new growth, and prevent forest fires, whilst providing a significant energy resource for both use on campus.

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Smart Energy Systems

Smart Energy Systems covers the increasing sophistication and intelligence of the energy grid from the point of generation to the point of use.  While smart grid has become synonymous with smart metering, the installation of two-way communicating meters are only one piece of a wide range of solutions intended to make energy transmission and distribution more efficient and reliable.  The Smart Energy System at UBC is an increasingly diverse value chain from solutions tying utilities more closely to users to enable energy management or demand response to vendors developing distribution automation solutions and more comprehensive control systems.

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Energy Storage Systems

Energy Storage Systems covers all major end-use segments of the storage market: consumer electronics, vehicles, and grid-scale storage.  We analyze strategically significant technical approaches – from mechanical to electrochemical to thermal.  Our focus is on differentiating between technologies, analyzing go-to-market and partnership approaches, and understanding the needs of end-users.  Our coverage extends to the diverse group of storage vendors including large industrial conglomerates, Asia-based manufacturers, venture-backed startups, and purchasers of storage systems like utilities, independent power producers, and automotive and electronics companies.

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Regenerative Building

Regenerative builiding moves beyond the linear throughput model of inputs-consumption-waste that characterize all of our current development. Regenerative seeks to go beyond doing no harm - it is the co-evolution of human and natural systems, to design to actively heal the environment. Regenerative building has two focuses; conservation and performance through a focused reduction on the environmental impacts of a building.

Social Licence

As a key part of its Sustainability Initiative, UBC has adopted the most aggressive carbon emission reduction targets among the top 40 universities in the world. Meeting these targets represents a critical challenge to UBC’s operations and international reputation, but also a unique opportunity to advance vital research on social barriers to clean energy and other climate change solutions. Recent examples of district energy systems in Vancouver, Richmond, and Prince George have been shelved not because of technological issues, but because of public concerns. As a result, communities across North America are watching to see how projects succeed at UBC’s living lab. Securing a ‘social license’ for such experimental steps towards a low-carbon, sustainable future will require building energy/climate literacy and a conservation culture to support policy and behaviour change on campus and beyond.

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Behaviour Change

The successful adoption of sustainable technologies and policies hinge on their ability to drive lasting changes in behaviour. UBC is driving research in behaviour change to better understand how consumers and inhabitants react to new technologies, and in doing so, enable partners to develop superior products and policies that have a lasting influence on society and the environment.

Public Policy

The climate change imperative has created new national and international opportunities for innovation in public policy. British Columbia is the leading jurisdiction in North America for progressive public policy, which creates great opportunities for research and innovation.

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