QUEBEC NETWORK ON SMART ENERGY AND THE ENERGY SQUAD

2023 AN ACTIVE YEAR FOR THE QIBN

The RQEI and the Energy Squad provide funding to support innovative energy collaboration projects

With the support of

January 5, 2024

The Quebec Network on Intelligent Energy (RQEI) and the Energy Squad are pleased to present the achievements made under the green hydrogen and bioenergy agreement for the year 2023.

Infrastructure

An amount of $5 million has been granted for the installation of 18 pieces of research equipment. By consensus, it was decided to distribute the equipment to different universities and CCTTs, in order to strengthen the research capacity of all partners. This decision aims to recognize the expertise of our research units and to allow the teams to appropriate the themes and equipment in order to federate the driving forces around common objectives.

Finally, this initiative facilitates access to state-of-the-art equipment for all inter-institutional and inter-level researchers, and increases Québec’s research and development capacity in green hydrogen and bioenergy.

Synergy between universities and colleges/CCTT

A total of 9 university-college technology transfer centre (CCTT) pairs have been funded as part of a national call for projects for the supervision of inter-institutional and inter-order research in green hydrogen and bioenergy. Each university-CCTT pair will be established for a period of 4 years and will be awarded a total amount of $150,000 for research supervision. This measure will allow 34 students to train as the next generation of scientists and advance innovation in the emerging green hydrogen and bioenergy sectors.

The research projects in this call are built around synergy and inter-order collaboration between two key players in the innovation chain in Quebec, universities and colleges/CCTTs. Due to their different missions and funding methods, universities and colleges/CCTTs have developed complementary expertise and infrastructure. Mitacs leverage will be used to maximize the funding available and the link with industry will be tracked using identified government targets to support outreach.

Increased inter-institutional and inter-agency research capacity

The RQEI and the Energy Squad have launched two calls for projects that aim to structure and support collaborative research in the green hydrogen and bioenergy sectors in Quebec. Three research projects, for a total amount of $818,000, were selected. This support will promote collaborative research and the sharing of expertise, in addition to training 15 student researchers, supporting the writing of several publications and leading to the development of promising new technologies. These inter-axis, inter-institutional and inter-order collaborations will increase the teams’ skills to offer collaborative projects to stakeholders, strengthen ties with CCTTs, and make room for innovative research, making Quebec a leader in the energy transition.

The RQEI’s mandate is to structure and lead a group of Quebec experts in energy transition as well as to pool resources in order to increase the creation, dissemination and transfer of knowledge to better meet energy challenges and contribute to Quebec’s influence.

As for the Energy Squad, it brings together 21 college centres for technology transfer (CCTT) working in energy transition. It aims to catalyze the resources and multidisciplinary expertise of its members in order to offer integrated and innovative solutions to meet the complex needs of organizations and contribute to the energy transition. It thus makes it possible to offer companies and governments a common service offer in terms of energy transition, for projects whose scale is such that a CCTT alone could not meet them.

The bioenergy and hydrogen research project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Quebec and is in line with the objectives of the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy.