FAcilities Tour

Monday, November 4

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

 

Cost:  $250.00 + GST

Please note that the tours are organized as a comprehensive, full-day experience. Unfortunately, this means that participants cannot select specific portions or segments of the tour to attend. 

8:30 am - Registration at Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre (6163 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1)

9:00 am - Estimated departure time from Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre

9:30 am - 10:30 am - Merida Labs' Smart Hydrogen Energy District (SHED) at UBC

UBC Smart Hydrogen Energy District (SHED)

The $24M SHED is a city-block sized development integrating several renewable energy technologies to investigate how diverse sources of energy demand and production can be deployed in an urban setting. While some elements are accessible to the public (e.g. EV chargers, H2 refuelling station), the primary function of SHED is to serve as a research platform. The platform comprises four main elements:

 

•             Solar Plant on Parkade Rooftop (ca. 1MW with bi-facial panels that also utilize light bounced off the back-plate)

•             Bi-Directional EV Chargers (V2G)

•             E-House Energy Management System (can be operated in island mode or connected to UBC grid)

•             Hydrogen Refueling Station (first in BC capable of serving both LDVs and HDVs, includes on-site green H2 production via PEM electrolyzer, and compression/storage units)

 

Research is focused on the interplay between the 4 main elements, and how the integration of these systems can be effectively leveraged for future developments, particularly on the digital side (all assets produce valuable data streams). The UBC Campus as Living Lab initiative offers a distinct advantage to deploying this type of projects in that UBC operates as an independent municipality with its own internal procurement and permitting processes, generally leaner and less risk averse that those of a normal municipality. 

 

 

11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Corix’s District Energy System at SFU, Burnaby

11:30- 12:00 pm Introduction 

- District Energy 101

- Biomass Heating System

- Burnaby Mountain District Energy Utility Overview

 

12:00 pm to 12:45 pm  - Plant Walk-Through

12:45pm - to 1:00 pm - Q & A

 

 

Corix has been providing heat and hot water to the Burnaby Mountain community since 2012, beginning with the Neighbourhood Utility Service for the UniverCity residential development. In 2016, Corix and Simon Fraser University began exploring the opportunity to build a larger energy system that would meet the thermal needs of the expanding UniverCity community alongside SFU’s academic campus. As a result, the Burnaby Mountain District Energy Utility (BMDEU) was created, and construction began on the $33-million biomass-based Renewable Energy Centre. Completed in 2020, the Renewable Energy Centre now provides low-carbon heat and hot water to most of SFU’s Burnaby campus and approximately half of the UniverCity community. The Energy Centre harnesses locally sourced wood waste, using wood chips, shavings, and urban and clean construction wood waste diverted from Metro Vancouver landfills. The 13.5 MWt biomass boiler provides close to 90% of customers’ annual energy demand and has drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions for the community. SFU has exceeded its carbon reduction targets, slashing greenhouse gas emissions by over 50% from 2007 levels and saving 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. 

 

1:30 pm - 2:00 pm - HTEC's Burnaby Hydrogen Fueling Depot
HTEC opened Canada’s first retail hydrogen fueling station in June 2018 to launch a multi-station network supporting the first commercial hydrogen electric vehicles rolling onto BC roads. As of October 2022, HTEC owns five stations in BC – three in the lower mainland, one on Vancouver Island and one in Kelowna.

 

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Powertech Labs Inc. Lab Tour - Powertech Labs Inc., a subsidiary of BC Hydro, provides performance testing, engineering studies, hydrogen technologies and testing, and modeling for the electric utility, clean energy, and industrial sectors.

3:30 PM – 3:40 PM - Chemistry Lab (R&D and Polymer) 

3:40 PM – 3:50 PM - Mechanical Lab 

3:50 PM – 4:00 PM - Material lab

4:00 PM – 4:10 PM - High Voltage Lab 

4:10 PM – 4:20 PM - H2 Technology and Testing 

4:20 PM – 4:30 PM - High Power Lab 

4:30 PM – 4:40 PM - EV Testing 

4:40 PM – 4:50 PM - H2 Technology Infrastructure 

5:00 pm - Bus returns to UBC